


Enough for a big man in a suit of armor

by assassi



Series: Stony ABO Verse [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A/B/O, Avengers Family, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mpreg, Slow Burn, Smut, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 18:47:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12042015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assassi/pseuds/assassi
Summary: Steve Rogers had no idea who Tony Stark was. The spoilt rich kid, heir to the Stark name and his father’s whole empire? The playboy, taking home a new girl every night? The genius inventor of a whole new source of clean energy and a chemical element, long forgotten? Iron Man, a hero who had taken a nuke into space?Or the man who said the words “I wanna have your baby” right as Steve took a long sip of coffee, that he eventually choked on, of course.





	Enough for a big man in a suit of armor

Tony Stark stared blankly at the sheets of papers in his hands. Dozens of sheets, explaining in absurd medical terms how broken he was. He had thought it couldn’t be that bad. He had, after all, managed to escape from a whole group of terrorists _and_ survive in the desert _after_ a crash in a metal suit. He had been fine. He was just fine.

 

Two broken ribs, a broken arm and a leg he definitely had to refrain from straining begged to differ. And nothing even began to cover a severely damaged heart and a literal hole in his chest. But what he was staring at right now, he hadn’t seen _that_ coming. And for reasons he couldn’t explain yet, that one particular sheet, one particular condition, _that_ cut a little too deep.

 

But that was fine, just fine. He was just a little more broken that he had thought.

 

“I still don’t understand why you asked for _those_ tests, right now”, Rhodey said.

 

Tony didn’t look up.

 

“When I was in that hellhole of a cave, there was someone else with me. Another man named Yinsen. He saved my life. Pulled out most of the shrapnel and did his best to prevent the rest of it from digging into my heart. He helped me with that armor you found me in and helped me escape from those bastards, distracting them as I took off. Giving up his life for mine. He is literally the reason I am here today, telling you all this.”

 

Tony sighed, wincing as his abused ribcage reminded him of his wounds.

 

“Before he died he spoke of his family. And told me… he told me not to waste my life…”

 

Suddenly he laughed bitterly, throwing the sheets away.

 

“You know, for a moment… I thought this could work. That for once things weren’t gonna be as shitty as it looked. That I was gonna build something that mattered, a home, family. That I wasn’t… wasn’t gonna be like my dad, you know?” Another bitter laugh. Tony looked away. “Well, that’s for sure, I guess.”

 

“Tones…”, Rhodey began.

 

Tony was in no mood for this. He didn’t want his best friend’s pity.

 

“I’m fine”, he bit out, standing up quickly, holding back a wince as he put all of his weight on his good leg and grabbed the stylish cane. He waved off Rhodey’s outstretched hand and went straight for the door.

 

There were other ways to feel useful, to do something valuable. He was going to stop destroying and start building… a better world his child would never see.

 

*

 

Steven Rogers’ first impression of Tony Stark wasn’t very good, to put it mildly. The man was cocky, arrogant and too brash. He had flashy ways of arriving at a _crime scene_ of all things and listened to something that barely qualified as music. He managed to grate Steve’s nerves within the first few minutes of their acquaintanceship. He proceeded, by angering a man who wielded the power of thunder as it seemed. But he couldn’t stop there, nope, he had to go on, poking at a positively unstable scientist who could turn into a monster, on a flying helicarrier, and kill them all. 

 

And then he had pretty much saved them all by repairing the engine of the falling helicarrier, risking his life. Again, facing Loki alone, before the rest of them could make it to New York. And then again, taking a nuke into the freaking space, nearly dying.

 

Steve Rogers had no idea who Tony Stark was. The spoilt rich kid, heir to the Stark name and his father’s whole empire? The playboy, taking home a new girl every night? The genius inventor of a whole new source of clean energy and a chemical element, long forgotten? Iron Man, a hero who had taken a nuke into space?

 

Or the man who said the words “I wanna have your baby” right as Steve took a long sip of coffee, that he eventually choked on, of course.

 

“What?”, he rasped out.

 

When Steve went under, back in the 40s, society still operated under the ABO system. Children were taught that there were two main genders – male and female, and three ABO orientations – Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alphas were generally bigger, stronger, thought to be more aggressive and possessive. Omegas were supposed to be meek homemakers – the females were considered to get pregnant easier than Betas (male Omegas couldn’t conceive) and ready to oblige to their Alpha’s every order. Betas were somewhere in between, kind of free to choose whatever they wanted to be.

 

Even then, it was quite obvious that something wasn’t quite right in those vague believes. For example, Steve himself was the most abnormal Alpha, with his delicate bone structure, his skinny and short body. He was often asked if he had been wrongly defined after his birth and before the serum only his fiery personality showed signs of his orientation.

 

There were male and female Alphas, male and female Betas, male and female Omegas. No matter the gender, Alphas were believed to always be in control while Omegas were supposed to pretty much roll over and take it. Of course, back in the days, that meant the male Omegas were looked down upon as being henpecked and those who showed preferences to their own sex were outcast by society and even disowned by their own parents.

 

When he had woken up from the ice Steve had been relieved to find out the new society repudiated the ABO system as old fashioned and wrong in its believes. Children were born just girls and boys. Later they chose a sexual orientation – homo- or heterosexual. Their ABO orientation was never a part of the picture.

 

Tony Stark’s ABO orientation was also never mentioned in all those files about his teammates Steve had been provided with. There was, however, a long line of female flings and finally, a comparatively stable girlfriend, named Virginia – Pepper – Potts.

 

Even if Tony was an Omega, which didn’t seem likely according to the 40’s propaganda, he still wouldn’t be able to get pregnant, since he was a man and males couldn’t carry a child – if nothing else that was for sure. He couldn’t possibly “ _have_ ” Steve’s baby.

 

Steve must have misheard or misunderstood.

 

“You what?”, he asked again.

 

“I, Tony Stark, would like you, Steve Rogers, to father a child that would bear my name”, Tony shrugged like it was no big deal.

 

Steve reacted impulsively.

 

“No.”

 

Tony frowned, looking actually a bit hurt. “Why?”

 

Steve snorted. “Where do I even begin? First of all, how? You’re a man.”

 

“Perceptive”, Tony sneered. “There’s the 21 century’s wonder called in-vitro. You get to spend a little happy time with yourself and then your super-soldiers (ha, get it?) get acquainted with a surrogate mother’s ovum…”

 

“I know what in-vitro is”, Steve narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you do it the normal way? I thought you and Pepper…”

 

“The normal way”, Tony repeated bitterly, just a whisper of quiet anger. But his smile was still as cocky as the day Steve met him when he looked up. “Like I said, I want your serum-enhanced super-soldiers”, he wiggled his eyebrows.

 

“No”, Steve said again, exiting the room and leaving behind the most arrogant, selfish and brash man he had ever known.

 

*

 

Steve winced as Natasha’s blow sent Tony sprawled on the mat. He didn’t know he was tensed and ready to bolt and go help the guy until Rhodes’ hand firmly pushed him back down on his seat.

 

“We’re not in the 40’s anymore, Cap”, he reminded. “They did disregard the ABO system. And helping _this_ particular Omega will definitely not be appreciated.”

 

So. Tony was an Omega. Steve’s eyebrows did a funny twitch in disbelief. Strong, fierce and hot-headed Tony Stark, the playboy emperor of modern technology, an Omega? Didn’t look so.

 

“Those stereotypes were exactly the main reason they repealed the system”, Rhodes said. Steve finally turned to look at him square in his eyes. Rhodes didn’t even blink as he stared right back.

 

“Looking down on him would be your biggest mistake.”

 

In a third of a second Tony twisted, tripped Natasha and had her immobilized with a steel-strong grip.

 

*

 

Steve didn’t know how they all started living in that tower after The Battle For New York (Tony insisted on all the capital letters). But strange as it was it worked, somehow. Steve woke up first and went for a jog. By the time he came back and took a shower Bruce was also awake and the two of them made breakfast. Clint and Natasha came soon after that and managed a few bites before Thor ate whatever was left. Someone always saved a plate for Tony and took it down in the shop if he was pulling another 3-days-in-a-row-workaholic stint or saved it for later if he was actually sleeping in his bed for a change.

 

Living together made Steve more aware of his teammates. They weren’t just the folders SHIELD had given him about each and every one of them. They weren’t just assets. They were actual people. And gradually, they became family.

 

Clint needed hearing aids but he rarely wore them at the tower (except for movie nights) because he seemed like he had eyes everywhere. Even if he had his back towards someone, he was always aware of every presence in the room, always ready to react. He spoke five languages, was great with kids and had severe trust issues after Loki. He barely trusted anyone outside of the team and was kind of wary even around the Avengers.

 

 Natasha spoke ten languages. She was equally good in sparring, shooting and… sewing. She claimed one had to know how to stich herself up while being shot at, but that didn’t explain the new curtains in her room, that were not in fact purchased with Tony’s credit card for Avengers’ related business.

 

Bruce was quiet and closed off but was a surprisingly good story teller. He rarely opened up in the beginning but when it became clear that all of them craved his stories so much that even Clint put on his hearing aids for the occasion Bruce began to tell them more about his time in India, Africa, Mexico and so on.

 

Thor still had a soft spot for his little brother even after everything he had done. He kept waiting and believing that Loki would redeem himself in some way and see the Midgardians as more than just his slaves. He was absurdly in love with Jane and showed her his feeling in the most romantic ways, wooing her the old-fashioned way, for which Tony teased him mercilessly.

 

For all of his arrogance and flashy façade Tony turned out to be surprisingly closed off. Steve had learned, the hard way, which topics were completely off limits: Afghanistan, Obediah Stane, the arc reactor, Howard Stark. What Tony loved to talk about was not actually himself, but technology. Which was on such a high level around him that Steve had no chance of understanding anything. He and Pepper had their ups and downs but Steve never understood why they didn’t try for a child together.

 

*

 

And then it all came together one night when Steve went down in the shop to bring Tony some actual food. He typed in his own code and stepped in the dimly lit room. Tony was sprawled on the couch staring at a flickering image of Howard. The video was paused and Tony’s eyes were suspiciously shiny. The bottle in his hand was half-empty.

 

“He gave me my first glass of whiskey, you know”, Tony suddenly said. “We barely spoke and when we did it was usually over a bottle of Jack”, he snorted, “and about you. He told me about the one good thing he got to do right in his life, the one amazing person he got to know.” Tony smiled bitterly. “He had to die to tell me I was kind of maybe worth it too. He never did say it when he was alive. I grew up thinking I wasn’t good enough for him, that he maybe did a mistake in choosing me and now he regretted it.”

 

Steve frowned, confused, as he sat down next to his teammate. Tony looked up.

 

“I was adopted. Didn’t you know?”

 

It should have been in the files. Maybe he had missed it. He shook his head. Tony shrugged.

 

“Yeah. It’s kind of the reason why I didn’t want to do it myself. I always tried to prove myself to him, how he wasn’t wrong in choosing me. I know now that he tried too. I just… I’m kind of scared not to be like him and do this to another child.”

 

“So you want a child who’d know you fought for them to be conceived”, Steve tried.

 

“Yeah”, Tony nodded vehemently. “That and… even if I was sure I wanted to, who’d let _me_ adopt, with my record…”

 

“But if you’re not the one to… donate, it’s not going to be biologically yours…”

 

“It cannot be biologically mine, Steve, no matter what I do”, Tony sighed. He pulled out some documents, so wrinkled that they looked ancient, and gave them to the blonde. They were medical results. The word ‘infertility’ was barely readable but it still stabbed Steve like a knife. Tony gave another bitter snort.

 

“That’s what happens when you party hard in your twenties. I drank too much, smoked, used drugs I cannot even begin to count and usually didn’t even remember where I’ve been and with whom, much less about using protection. Rehab, antibiotics and regulars check-ups saved me from certain death, but could only get me so far.” Another bitter smile. “And then I get kidnapped, miraculously survive and decide that hey, maybe it’s time to finally do something meaningful in my life. Maybe it’s time for kids, cause I ain’t gonna get any more ready and I sure as hell won’t get any younger. And that’s when life rightfully slapped me in my face and said, hey, you’d better had thought of that in your twenties.”

 

Tony’s eyes suddenly hardened and he clenched his teeth and his fists.

 

“Doesn’t really matter. _Stark Industries_ is my baby.  And the Avengers are like bickering teenagers who spend a lot of my money”, he forced on a smile, “I barely even deserve that. It should be enough for a big man in a suit of armor, huh?”

 

It was meant to be a joke but it still stung as the words hung heavily in the air while Tony stood up and walked off as Steve was left staring at Howard Stark’s flickering image.

 

*

 

“What part of ‘do not attack on your own’ don’t you understand, Stark!?”

 

“The part where it’s the only way o-…”

 

“ _I_ say what’s the way to fight and when I order you something you damn well will obey!”, Steve bellowed.

 

“Is that right, _Alpha_?”, Tony sneered.

 

“You posed danger not only to yourself, but the civilians as well”, Steve tried to go back to reason and veer out of dangerous ABO territory.

 

“The suit protects me and everyone else better than…”

 

“The suit does not make the decisions, Tony!”, Steve yelled, frustrated, rubbing a hand down his face. “That’s why Natasha once okayed Iron Man, but not _you_.”

 

He knew he had gotten too far and said too much as soon as Tony’ silence hit him harder than Thor’s hammer. The strong jaw twitched and clenched under the finely trimmed beard, but otherwise the handsome face got strangely blank. The genius took a step back.

 

“Tony, wait…”, he tried, but the brunette turned around and didn’t look back.

 

*

 

Iron Man did not join their next mission. Or the one after it. Or at all.

 

Tony moved out of the tower, back in his Malibu mansion.

 

*

 

“What do you mean, destroyed?! How?! Was he in there?!”

 

“We don’t know yet, Steve.”

 

“What do you mean we don’t know, with all of SHIELD’s resources, there must be...!”

 

“Steve. We’ll find him”, Natasha promised, gently laying a hand on his shoulder.

 

*

 

Tony was still unconscious after his surgery. An extreme surgery with Extremis. Something impossible so far, deemed too dangerous for his damaged heart. Which wasn’t going to be damaged anymore, at least physically, if it worked.

 

 _If_ it worked.

 

Steve sat next to his bed, biting his lip, staring at Tony’s peaceful face. He wanted to say, to yell so many things. How could he just leave them like that in the first place? How could he abandon them? How could he never call them, even in times of extreme need? They were his family, they had his back, he should have called, instead of dealing with Killian on his own!

 

Tony’s nose twitched and he sighed, opening a bleary eye, slowly blinking his way into consciousness. He looked around, eyes landing on the tired blonde next to his hospital bed.

 

Steve smiled, so indescribably relieved that it was plain to see.

 

“Hey Tony”, was all he said.

 

Tony smiled back.

 

*

 

Pepper was strangely distant these days. When they finally discharged Tony and he moved back in the tower she barely stayed half an hour on his welcome-home party. She wasn’t acting cold exactly and she and Tony still teased each other and laughed on some inside jokes they had, but there was something different in the way she held herself around him, the way she looked at him. There was an almost unnoticeable strain, a small crack in the beautiful and shiny crystal façade of their relationship.

 

“I’m going to be out of town for the next few days on SI business. There’s a conference in Tokyo I should attend”, she said while packing some files and folders in her stylish bag.

 

Tony, sitting at the counter next to her and caffeineaiting himself, nodded distractedly.

 

“Sure. Have a nice flight and come back sooner”, he smiled, leaning for a kiss.

 

She smacked her lips on his cheek and left in a hurry, muttering about him rubbing his bad habit of always being late on her.

 

Tony frowned slightly over his coffee.

 

Over his shoulder Steve and Natasha shared a look.

 

*

 

It was usually just the two of them these days. Clint was always off somewhere even when they knew he had no SHIELD missions. Thor rarely visited, torn between Asgard and Jane and there was obviously _something_ between Bruce and Natasha even though both of them still seemed reluctant to acknowledge it.

 

It was lonely in the kitchen without the usual bustle. Steve often found himself quickly mixing something up for him and Tony and going down in the shop to introduce the engineer to some food and usually stay and spend the day doodling in the shop.

 

He entered his personal code and stepped in, frowning when he noticed Tony’s slummed posture and vacant gaze. He left the tray on the worktable and noted the unopened bottle of Jack.

 

Tony hadn’t drunk since that terrible birthday when he had thought he was going to die.

 

Steve knew it was bad when he was contemplating it once again.

 

“Rough day?”, he asked.

 

“Rough week”, Tony muttered.

 

Steve nodded.

 

“Come on”, he said, taking Tony by the elbow.

 

“Where are we going?”, Tony frowned.

 

“Out. I know a place.”

 

*

 

“I didn’t even know this place existed. And I have lived here almost my entire life”, Tony mused.

 

It was in the outskirts of Central park, far from the crowds but not completely devoid of people. The café overlooked the green oasis in the middle of the busy and dusty city. It was small and cozy, with freshly baked goods and strong coffee, just the way Tony liked it. The few other patrons seemed regulars, probably living nearby. Their age ranged from 20 to 70. There was a young girl in a red pin-up dress and denim jacket typing away on her laptop, only stopping to take a sip from a large cup of coffee; probably a graduate student. An elderly man was flipping through a newspaper in the corner, a slice of cake still untouched next to him. A middle aged woman in a business suit took a sip from her cappuccino, smiling at the sun with her eyes closed, obviously enjoying the stolen moments away from the office.

 

“Thank you for bringing me here. I really needed this break”, Tony admitted.

 

“I’m glad you like it”, Steve just shrugged.

 

“It’s amazing that you’ve found a place like that in this city”, Tony mused.

 

“I know many places like this”, Steve smiled.

 

“Like what?”, Tony inquired.

 

“Places to go when you need to breathe again”, Steve answered simply.

 

He had a feeling he’d show Tony all those small hideouts he knew.

 

*

 

Tony hadn’t ran - just for the sake of it, without it being life or death situation – in years. It was quite obvious Steve was holding back on him, but the genius wasn’t about to argue. He barely kept up as it was.

 

The forest, however, was truly beautiful and just a few hours’ drive from the city. Tony loved to drive. He had found the drive itself far more pleasurable than jogging, but the forest made up for it.

 

“This isn’t how I pictured my Saturday”, Tony admitted.

 

“And staying holed up in a dark workshop is?”, Steve countered.

 

Tony shrugged. “It’s who I am.”

 

“You don’t have to be just that. Do it when it brings you joy, but not just because it’s expected.”

 

“Meaning?”, Tony frowned.

 

“You don’t have to work just to meet anyone’s expectations, just because they see you as Tony Stark, genius inventor. Take the time to just enjoy the simple things in this life.”

 

Tony kept quiet up until 30 minutes later when they reached the small lake Steve had found during one of his runs after waking up from the ice. Steve grinned, taking off his t-shirt.

 

“Come on”, he nodded towards the water.

 

Tony didn’t follow him, no matter how he tried to coax him into the lake: the water was so clear, it was so hot today, they were all sweaty, wouldn’t a nice dip feel just great? But Tony was adamant. He didn’t even take off his own shirt and only just touched the water with the tips of his toes.

 

But for a second there, he looked like he really appreciated the view of a nearly naked Super Soldier in a lake.

 

*

 

Later Steve would learn that Tony didn’t really like water after Afghanistan. It had taken some time to even get comfortable with showers, but tubs, pools and lakes were definitely out of question.

 

And so was taking his shirt off. Because, as Tony said off-handedly, “Extremis could only heal so far”. Scars of explosions and torture were off limits and for Tony, so was showing those scars. Even to his family.

 

*

 

SHIELD’s demise shook Steve to the core for more than just one reason. He had seen everything he had believed in after the Ice fall down in pieces, broken from within. For a while it had looked like his whole world was destroyed.

 

It had also showed him people he had thought he knew in different light. He saw Natasha looking completely lost and so vulnerable when they had thought Fury was dead. He saw Fury weak. And he saw the shell of his long lost childhood friend turned into a mindless killing machine.

 

It could have been him. On that train, or even if HYDRA had been to the one to dig him up from the ice. Those painfully familiar, scarily empty eyes could have been his. The long dead HYDRA spy Zola could have been telling his story instead of Bucky’s.

 

And it hurt to see no recognition in those eyes as Bucky’s fists were pummeling his face. And it hurt to piece together what Zola had told them and know that those empty eyes had once stared into Howard and Maria’s dead eyes. And it hurt twice as bad, because Tony was not just Howard’s son anymore.

 

It hurt because of Bucky and it hurt because of Tony. But it would be unbearable if they knew of each other and what had truly happened in the past.

 

So Steve made a decision never to tell Tony who had actually killed his parents.

 

*

 

Steve’s search of his long lost friend was temporarily put on hold since Tony’s idea of peace was apparently a monster calling itself Ultron, who wanted to eradicate humanity. Steve tried not to yell and overreact (Was that even possible? Could he even **_over_** react?), tried not be seen as an aggressive Alpha, snarling down at the troublesome Omega, tried not be an ass in general. Him and Tony still managed to snarl in each other’s faces, even after all these days spent quietly becoming closer.

 

He was mad, but Tony’s reaction to his own mistake made it impossible to stay mad for long. The genius was devastated. In his own way. He never admitted that he was wrong, of course, but he was closed off and unnaturally quiet for himself in one minute and then fiercely fighting to fix things up in the next moment. It got worse when it was made clear that SI weapons had killed Wanda and Pietro’s parents. And it looked like Tony’s worst nightmare, his reason to become Iron Man, was haunting him again.

 

*

 

Finding out that Clint not only has a family, but is a father of two, almost three, was a big surprise.

 

Finding out that Tony was good with kids was another.

 

“Draw me a pony, Uncle Tony!”, Lila bounced on the chair next to him.

 

“Eh. I can… probably sketch a scheme of a horse”, Tony amended. “But Uncle Steve is far better than me in drawing.”

 

“But I want _you_ to draw me a pony!”

 

“…Yeah. Okay. I can do that. You love ponies, huh?”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“Can you ride?”

 

“Yeah, but only if Daddy is here. It’s not fair. He would let Cooper ride on his own! Only cuz he’s a boy.”

 

“That is not true. Plus, your daddy is just worried about you. You know what that makes him?”

 

“A worrywart!”, she giggled. Tony smiled, but it was a little forced, especially when he muttered quietly,

 

“A good father.”

 

*

 

“This is insanity! You are going to try and fix a mistake by doing the very same thing!?”

 

“It’s not the same thing…”

 

“So you aren’t uploading an artificial intelligence created by you in a body made of synthetic tissue?!”

 

“Uh. I am. But…”

 

“I swear to God, Stark…!”

 

“Would you trust me for once in your life!?”

 

Steve sighed, ruffling his messy blond hair even more.

 

“You always have the best intentions. You always believe it would work. And look how it turned out with Ultron. How can you be so sure that it’d work now?”

 

“Because I know JARVIS. And he’s literally our only chance.”

 

“… This one better work out, Tony.”

 

*

 

Sokovia was in ruins. And so was Tony by the looks of it.

 

He spent three days in the suit, searching for people under the debris, carrying the injured to the nearest medical point, bringing water or food supplies, blankets, you name it. He would have continued for another three or even more days if Clint hadn’t stopped him.

 

“You haven’t slept, eaten or drunk anything in 72 hours. Go home and have some rest.”

 

“I’m needed here”, Tony made a move to take off again, but Clint didn’t let go.

 

“You’re liability.”

 

“I can he-…”

 

“You did your best, Tony. Everyone agrees on that. Now go and reboot, because I ain’t gonna explain to my daughter why her new favorite uncle crashed into a wall in his exhaustion.”

 

Tony reluctantly complied. Only to go home and start transferring money for building new homes for the Sokovians, pay hospital bills and create scholarships for the youngsters who had lost everything. He didn’t rest. He worked until he collapsed and Steve took him to his bed and when he woke up he did it all over again.

 

His meeting with Wanda was one of the hardest things he had to do.

 

“I know it’s not much, but you can live here, in the tower and have free access to the Avengers vaults. That’s literally the least I can offer you since I couldn’t save your brother and I’m the reason you don’t have anyone else.”

 

Wanda stared at him for a long moment.

 

“I used to hate you”, she began. “The kind of blind hate you have for someone you don’t really know. But when you get to know them… your perspective changes. And you begin to ask, to really look into things. All I used to know was that the bomb that killed my parents had your name on it. I had to meet you, had to look into your soul and see the simple true – you had no idea what Stane did with your company. With your name.”

 

“I was careless. If I had paid attention instead of wasting away a bloody heritage…”

 

“I won’t excuse your playboy years. But why would you take the time to take a closer look into someone you trusted so much that you saw him like a second father?”

 

Tony looked away, fighting back the horrible memories of treason and pain. Wanda didn’t even blink.

 

“If I hadn’t seen for myself, I never would have guessed. You judge yourself harsher than any court, Tony Stark.”

 

Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah, well. Sinners like me take redemption seriously”, his smile was bitter, “So? Will you stay?”

 

Wanda gave him another evaluating look. “I will. Thank you.”

 

“Literally for nothing”, he said, standing up and walking towards the door.

 

“Tony?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You’re not what society thinks you are. You’re not even what you think you are.”

 

Tony frowned, leaving the living room and the enigmatic young woman.

 

*

 

In the beginning Steve was rarely in the tower. He was always travelling, always following a lead that always led to a dead-end. Someone had seen a man vaguely looking like Bucky in Warsaw but when he and Sam got there the place was in ruins. Was that a footage of Bucky in Vienna? Or was it just another stranger looking like him?

 

“I think you need to get back to your team, Steve”, Sam said when they were faced with yet another false information and another empty apartment. “Look, he keeps running and hiding, and what’s left of the Avengers need you. Especially now after Sokovia.”

 

Steve knew Sam was right. And he knew he wasn’t really giving up, just giving Bucky the time and space he apparently needed.

 

It still tasted like defeat.

 

*

 

Things seemed to have gone back to normal. Or at least as normal as it got for them, a household of a genius engineer, a Super Soldier, an assassin, a witch and an AI in an artificial body. The other resident genius had gone MIA. Tony took it in stride, never stopping his search for his science-bro. Natasha… didn’t take it so well. While she had once shown a vulnerability few people had lived to see, she was now cold and distant again; an asset instead of a human being. She still teased Tony and spent time with Steve but she wasn’t the woman she had been around Bruce.

 

Tony went back to his old self, burying himself in work and only coming up for coffee and some snack. The call he received that day was during one of said coffee-breaks.

 

He blinked blearily at the display of his phone even though the obnoxious ringtone had already told him who it was. He sighed, picking up.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why is there a _pony_ at my doorstep, Stark?!”

 

“Because one of your little agents loves ponies.”

 

“You cannot buy horses for my children!”

 

“I don’t see why not. And I did not buy horses, plural, but a single pony for one child, singular again. The other one wanted something else.”

 

“Stark! Wait… what did Cooper want!?”

 

“Just remember it’s a prototype and kinda expensive. And it has no repulsors, flies only a meter off the ground. It’s child-friendly!”

 

“STARK!!!”

 

“I’m hangin’ up, you yell too much and I do not have enough coffee in my system. Tell the agents I love them. Bye.”

 

“STA-…!”

 

Tony ended the call and slid the phone back in his pocket before he took another sip of his coffee like nothing had just happened.

 

*

When Steve next went down in the shop to fetch Tony for dinner he caught the genius staring into some folders.

 

“What’s that?”, he asked.

 

Tony actually flinched a little and made a half-move to cover the opened files. He then gave up with a sigh and sat back down.

 

“On the left are potential donors and surrogate mothers. On the right are orphaned children from Sokovia. You were right. I would have no biological connection to any child. Might as well just adopt one, if they let me, and be very, very careful not to repeat my father’s mistakes.”

 

“Hmm”, Steve nodded thoughtfully. He then carefully removed the donor files and threw them in the bin.

 

“What-…”, Tony began.

 

“I’ll do it. I’m still not against adoption, but if you really want an in-vitro child, I’ll do it.”

 

“You don’t have to…”

 

“I know I don’t have to. I want to. Since I got to know you a little better. And you’re not the man I thought you were.”

 

“You’re the second person to tell me that”, Tony smirked.

 

Steve smiled back. “So? How about it?”

 

Tony sighed, looking back at the folders. “We got the daddy, now let’s find the mommy.”

 

“About that… isn’t Pepper going to…?”, Steve began.

 

“No”, Tony cut him off brusquely. He then coughed awkwardly and looked away. “I mean. It would be too weird, wouldn’t it?”

 

Steve never really found out why Tony didn’t want to share this with his girlfriend.

 

*

 

Tony didn’t forget Sokovia just because he decided he wanted a child conceived artificially by people he chose. And while balancing his Iron Man duties, once again being a CEO of SI and searching for a mother for his child, he became a mentor to 23 Sokovian children and donated 1 billion for raising and educating the rest of them.

 

*

 

“Why do I feel like you took me out for a walk, the way you’d do with a dog?”, Tony muttered around a cheeseburger.

 

“You’re not a dog.”

 

“You don’t say…”

 

“Dogs actually ask for walks.”

 

Tony glared. Steve smirked and sighed, shrugging.

 

“I strongly believe that you need not only the food and water I bring you to the shop, but also - now don’t be shocked - sunlight.”

 

“Ha-fucking-ha. You’re hilarious”, Tony grunted, taking another bite of his sandwich.

 

If Steve had it completely his way Tony would be eating a salad and meat Steve had prepared by himself, preferably baked instead of fried. But if he wanted Tony to consume _some_ food at all the cheeseburger had to do. They continued their walk through their favorite part of Central park, the one where their favorite café was, and Steve was content to just be with Tony and enjoy the stolen day of peace.

 

“The sun does feel nice though”, Tony eventually admitted, looking away before Steve could see the blush on his face.

 

Which Steve totally saw.

 

*

 

Steve was on a mission in Moscow, not-issued from the non-existing organization previously known as SHIELD. It wasn’t anything gruesome, mostly obtaining information, but it still made him itchy, being in a foreign country and not speaking their impossible language. He texted Tony so.

 

“ _Slavic languages are a bitch to learn_ ”, Tony surprisingly agreed.

 

“ _Yeah? How many do you speak_?”, Steve shot back.

 

“ _Russian and Bulgarian_ ”, was the even more surprising answer.

 

“ _Why_?”, Steve asked.

 

“ _Russian for business and Bulgarian for personal reasons_ ”, was the cryptic answer.

 

Steve waited, not really knowing what to type back.

 

“ _I was led to believe I might have been adopted from Bulgaria_.”, Tony wrote.

 

Oh.

 

“ _Were you_?”

 

“ _I don’t know yet_.”

 

They didn’t talk much after that but when Steve got back he made Tony пелмени and they shared stories about their time in Russia.

 

*

 

Tony was on a conference in France. He was exhausted from people trying to impress him and show him how smart they were, smart enough for Tony Stark to notice them. He took the first chance to escape the stifling atmosphere of the business hotel and take a stroll down Champs Elysees.

 

The eclairs and other baked goods he bought were a whim that had no particular target until the clerk asked him if they should pack his purchase in a fancy box. Tony smirked.

 

“Oui. Dans blanc, rouge et bleu.”

 

“Ooh, drapeau français?”, the clerk smiled.

 

Tony shrugged. He had another image in mind. Of stars and stripes.

 

*

 

It started as a joke, but they kept buying each other food or small trinkets from the places they visited. A woolen scarf from Ireland. A beer mug from Germany. Cheese from Greece and rose oil from Bulgaria. The kilt Tony brought Steve from Scotland never really made it on Steve’s butt for Tony’s great disappointment but the Belgian chocolate Steve sent Tony while on a mission was quickly taken care of.

 

*

 

Tony kept searching for the best surrogate mother, interviewing a few but mostly just sifting out the rest.

 

“I can just see it in their eyes, Steve. They don’t want to help a person who wants a child. They see it as a means to get obscenely rich, an opportunity to squeeze out a small fortune from Tony Stark. I’m ready to pay for the mother’s comfort and make sure she has everything she needs after she has given birth, but I won’t fund a leech for the rest of her live.”

 

Steve couldn’t agree more. And it was truly ugly how some people only saw a new life as their meal ticket.

 

“Come on”, he said, rubbing a hand down Tony’s back. “Let’s take a break from that.”

 

They went to a small diner in Brooklyn, one that looked as old as if it had been there since before Steve went under, but was clean, cozy and far enough from Manhattan’s luster to be a safe oasis from nosy paparazzi.

 

There was apparently someone who knew more than even the most obnoxious reporter.

 

Tony had just gone to the toilet when Steve’s phone beeped with a message.

 

“ _Fallin for Stark’s kid, Stevie_?”

 

He stared at the devise for nearly a whole minute, frozen in his spot. There was only one person who called him that.

 

“ _Where are you_?”, he typed back.

 

There was no answer.

 

“Hey. Sprangles. Are you ok?”, Tony asked, frowning slightly in his worry as he sat back opposite from him.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright”, he answered absentmindedly.

He had to look harder.

 

He had to find Bucky.

 

*

 

Turned out he had no time for that before the UN presented them with the Sokovia Accords. Tony supported the idea. Steve didn’t.

 

“We don’t play by anyone’s rules”, he said.

 

“And look where that got us”, Tony muttered darkly.

 

Steve knew the impact that the Sokovian war had on Tony. But he couldn’t agree on something that was against all of his principles. He would have argued more if something else hadn’t popped up.

 

“Pepper and I broke up.”

 

And apparently that meant more to Steve than he cared to explain and admit, even  to himself. Urges he had buried deep inside himself, urges the modern society denied, roared back to life. He had always cared for Tony. Always made sure he ate, slept and hydrated himself, made sure he was happy or at least content… the way he would have treated a potential mate back in the 40’s. They had gotten closer long before Steve agreed to help Tony obtain his dream child and that had brought them even closer.

 

And now Tony was a free man.

 

Steve’s whole self screamed that he pursue that chance.

 

But his more rational side reminded him that Tony, who believed in and supported everything Steve didn’t, was not even into men so there was no chance at all.

 

*

 

Steve was distractedly writing down another report, barely even noticing what he wrote. His head was buzzing with a thousand different things: his and Tony’s argument about the Accords, Peggy’s funeral, Bucky’s whereabouts…

 

The annoying son of a bitch who was flirting with Tony not even a few steps away.

 

“So I was thinking we can grab coffee some time?”

 

“Sure”, Tony smiled. “There’s a new place on Park Avenue. Looks nice.”

 

“Great! Is Saturday okay? Around 5pm?”

 

“Yeah, okay”, Tony smiled again as they parted ways and the genius came to sit down next to Steve.

 

“Are you aware that he asked you on a date?”, Steve asked grimly.

 

“Yeah, so?”, Tony frowned.

 

“And you accepted.”

 

“Is there a problem?”

 

“As long as you don’t only do it to make fun of him.”

 

Tony blinked a few times.

 

“Are you trying to ask me if I’m genuinely interested in dating a guy?”

 

Steve ground his teeth, not meeting his eyes.

 

“I’m bi, Steve. Is that a problem for you?”

 

Blue eyes finally and suddenly looked up into calm brown ones.

 

“Why did I not know that?”, the blonde muttered quietly.

 

“You never asked”, Tony answered just as quietly without even blinking.

 

_You never asked me about my sexuality. And you never actually asked me on a real date._

Tony stood up and left the room and the stunned Super Soldier.

 

*

 

Tony had been fighting, in vain, with his bow-tie for the last 15 minutes before he finally gave up and turned to Steve.

 

“Can you tie that damn thing?”

 

“Hmm? Where’s your boy-toy in times of need?”, the blonde huffed, reaching out either way.

 

Tony slapped his hands away.

 

“What the hell is your problem?”

 

“Except the fact that you’ve been dating a different fella almost every day?”

 

“And how is that any of your concern?! We’re not in the 40’s, Rogers! Men can date men! People can date without actually considering marriage!”

 

The rest of the team sharing the limo with them fidgeted uncomfortably.

 

“Is that the reputation you seek, again? This time with men?”, Steve hissed.

 

“Again, how is my reputation any of your business? Even if the whole city talks about what a slut I am, what do you care!?”

 

“I fucking care because-…!”

 

“We’re here! We arrived! We’ll be going out now!”, Clint announced loudly before he all but fell out of the car in his haste to leave, followed by Wanda, Thor, Rhodey and Sam. Natasha was the last to leave, giving them both a long look.

 

“Don’t come inside before you’ve figured this out”, she said, before she gracefully slid out of the limo.

 

Tony looked back at the fuming blonde.

 

“Well? You fucking care because…?”

 

And that’s when Steve gave up all pretenses and kissed Tony passionately, without holding back his desperation and tiny hope. Tony’s obvious shock and lack of response was what made him finally pull back reluctantly, defeated.

 

“Because… Why can’t it be me?”, he whispered.

 

Tony stared at him for a long moment.

 

“You never asked”, he whispered back before a small smile stretched his lips and he bent down for another kiss.

 

*

 

Even though Tony ordered their driver to take them back to the tower on that fateful night, their first time together didn’t happen right then.

 

It happened after a month of formal dates, because Steve was old-fashioned like that, and even then it was Tony who initiated it.

 

And it was far from the romantic clichés that books, movies and internet offered.

 

Because Steve had, of course, never sucked a cock before, so…

 

“Um, don’t force yourself, Capsicle...”

 

But Tony was trying so hard to impress Steve, that…

 

“Same applies for you, Shellhead.”

 

And the lube was…

 

 “Cold, cold, _fucking_ cold!”

 

And then Tony was…

 

“Too tight! It’s physically not possible to fit…”

 

“Overestimating yourself much?”, the genius smirked.

 

But then of course…

 

“Shit, you weren’t exaggerating!”

 

“No shit, Sherlock!”

 

And it was painful in the beginning but when they finally adjusted to each other and got the hang of it the spark was definitely there. And in the end it was…

 

“Perfect. Just… perfect”, Tony panted, still sprawled on his back.

 

He flinched, however, when he felt a gentle finger probing at his sensitive flesh again.

 

“Uh. Amazing as it was I’m not up for a second round just yet”, Tony frowned slightly, looking down at the blonde, who blushed furiously.

 

“I was not! Uh… I, uh… you know… checking you for any tears…”

 

“I’m not crying. And aren’t tears supposed be on my face? You know, way up here?”, he gestured.

 

“Not for-…! I’m checking to see if you’re torn… down here. It can be dangerous. Read it on the internet.”

 

Tony blinked once, twice and then burst laughing.

 

“I can’t believe you read about aftercare but not about warming the fucking lube!”

 

Steve sighed, dropping his head to Tony’s hipbone.

 

“Sass. That’s all I ever get from you”, he muttered.

 

A finger under his chin made him look up into smug smirking brown eyes.

 

“ _All_ you ever get from me, hmm?”, Tony raised an eyebrow.

 

Steve blushed again, but he smiled, shaking his head and bending for a kiss.

 

*

 

Steve sat, frozen to the spot, watching the news going on and on about the chaos at the Vienna conference and the death of King T’Chaka. On repeat was the footage of a familiar yet so different face. The face of a target.

 

“ _They’re going to kill him, Steve. If he means so much for you, you gotta find him before them_ ”, Sharon Carter said.

 

Steve frowned, just now remembering that she had been the one to call and warn him.

 

“Yeah. Thank you”, he muttered, hanging up and already dialing Sam’s number and grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, that would explain close to nothing to his lover. He looked sideways, through the slightly ajar door, at Tony’s sleeping form. His stomach clenched painfully. It had been too good to last.

 

“ _Yeah_?”, Sam’s voice answered sleepily.

 

“I have a lead. In Bucharest.”

 

*

 

Tony sat, bruised and broken, in the remnants of his armor, broken-hearted once again. That one hurt worse than Afghanistan. That was worse than having a literal hole in your chest.

 

Even after Steve and half of the Avengers had turned against him, even after Rhodey was wounded so badly in the aftermath, Tony had still been willing to try and see reason, to give Steve and that friend of his a chance to explain, had been willing to believe that Barnes was really innocent in the whole Vienna fiasco. But what did it matter that he hadn’t killed the King, if he had killed Tony’s parents? He wasn’t innocent. He had never been.

 

But what Tony could never, ever forgive was Steve’s betrayal. Because he had known, the whole time. Way before he had found his way into Tony’s bed.

 

So now Tony sat, bruised and broken, in the ruins of a HYDRA facility in Siberia, all alone. His parents were killed by the man his lover had chosen before him. His teammates were in prison. Natasha was gone. Rhodey probably hated him and he had no other friends. Even Pepper had left him. He had no one. If he died here no one would give a fuck.

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

Tony turned around, startled, scrambling for a weapon.

 

Vision lifted his hands in a calming gesture.

 

“FRIDAY informed me your Mark 18 was… not… functional right now. I thought you might need some help. To get back home.”

 

Tony huffed, fighting back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.

 

“And where is home, Vision?”

 

“For you? Wherever you choose to, I believe.”

 

Tony looked away, gritting his teeth. He could do that. He could start all over. He had done it before, so many times. After Afghanistan. After Stane. After Vanko and after palladium poisoning. After Loki, after Sokovia… after Pepper.

 

After Steve.

 

“You’re right. Let’s go home.”

 

He reached out, taking Vision’s outstretched arm, accepting his support as they slowly made their way out.

 

“And… how about this?”, Vision asked, pointing at a forgotten vibranium shield.

 

Tony closed his eyes.

 

“Leave it.”

 

*

 

Tony looked around the empty common room in the tower. It wasn’t just the den. The whole floor, each of their rooms were empty.

 

“They aren’t coming back, Tones”, Rhodey said gently. “But it’s still your home. You might as well just live here on your own again.”  

 

“On my own?”

 

Tony flinched and cursed silently at how weak and pathetic his voice sounded. He wasn’t weak. He could do this. On his own if he had to.

 

“You don’t have to.”

 

He turned around, facing his closest friend. Rhodey, still in his wheelchair despite the rehabilitation and Tony’s own involvement in it, smiled warmly.

 

“So. Where’s my room?”

 

*

 

Things went back to normal or as normal as it got for Tony Stark. He spent his days in the workshop, checking on Rhodey or attending meetings he was only informed about through mails, since Pepper obviously couldn’t bear to even hear his voice. He lived on coffee and pizza that got delivered directly in the shop. Sleep was something that happened occasionally, when he promptly shut down and fainted over the blueprints.

 

Once in a blue moon he ventured back into the common area. He avoided it, since its emptiness hurt more than he cared to admit.

 

It was one of these days that he realized Rhodey wasn’t the only one living here with him.

 

He all but crawled into the den, making a beeline for the coffee machine (the one downstairs had run out of coffee) when a familiar voice said,

 

“Good morning.”

 

“Morning, J”, he said on autopilot, only then realizing it couldn’t be JARVIS.

 

Not exactly. Not anymore.

 

He turned around and opened his mouth to explain, maybe even mutter a weak apology. Vision didn’t even flinch. Tony armed himself with some coffee before he spoke again.

 

“I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“Did you not want me to be here, Mr. Stark?”, Vision frowned slightly.

 

 “No! Just the opposite…”, Tony sighed, looking away and ruffling his already messy hair even more. “Look, I know you’re not exactly him. But there’s at least some part of him that’s part of you and… He and Rhodey are my oldest friends so… I was wondering if you’d maybe… stay. I mean, I know you probably wouldn’t want to, considering Wanda and how that would make things between you even more complicated…”

 

“Mr. Stark”, Vision interrupted him, staring thoughtfully at him. “Is it really so hard to believe someone would choose _you_?”

 

Tony looked away again. “Right now? Yes, it is.”

 

“Well. I do.”

 

“Meaning… you’ll stay?”

 

“I will stay”, Vision nodded.

 

Tony smiled, with the ghost of his previous smiles, and stood up.

 

“Good, that’s… good. I, uh… thanks. And call me Tony, for fuck’s sake”, he added quickly as he was about to leave the room.

 

“Tony?”, Vision called.

 

“Hmm?”, the genius looked back.

 

“The part of me that’s him wants you to know that you were his best friend too. I would like to consider you so too, one day.”

 

Tony looked away quickly, nodding brusquely before he left.

 

*

 

Sleep suddenly stopped being a rare occasion in Stark Tower. In the week or so since he had talked to Vision Tony was seen sleeping on pretty much every possible surface. He had no explanation for it and no memory of falling asleep at all. Pizza was forever banned from the tower and Tony declared that he felt nauseous even thinking about it.

 

“Overexposure”, Rhodey said, nonplused. “He’s had those food-moods since his MIT days.”

 

“I was concerned if it was maybe a case of depression”, Vision confided.

 

“Have you seen how much he _eats_ these days?”, Rhodey stage-whispered.

 

They both watched as Tony finished off his cheeseburger and opened a bag of chips and a jar of honey-mustard. He frowned and opened up a cupboard, rummaging in it.

 

“Yo! Any idea if we have any blueberries?”, he called over his shoulder.

 

Rhodey and Vision exchanged a look.

 

*

 

Tony was sick. As in partied-hard-four-days-in-a-row sick.

 

Only he hadn’t had even a shot of alcohol.

 

He told Vision so as he was hugging the toilet.

 

“I am going to call a doctor”, Vision stood up from his place right next to him and made a move for the door.

 

“Don’t be melodramatic, Red-Head, it’s just a stomach flu”, Tony rasped.

 

“Even so”, Vision insisted.

 

*

 

Tony stared at a spot on the opposite wall, completely thunderstruck. The words “latent omega genes” and “evolution that made it possible for a male omega-orientated person to conceive” were stuck in his head, meaningless. His mind was strangely blank and there was a strange long beeping sound echoing in his head.

 

“Mr. Stark?”, the doctor, a young blonde woman with kind blue eyes, asked gently. “Do you have any other friends or your partner we should call? It’s incredibly important for your condition to have someone to…”

 

“My condition?”, he asked hollowly.

 

“Pregnancy.”

 

The word echoed again, loud and meaningless.

 

Tony started to laugh. It was absurd. It must be a joke, a cruel, cruel trick they were playing on him, who had dreamed of this child for so long, and now, now when the time was least suitable and his love-life was non-existing and Steve would never, ever know…

 

The sound around him changed into bitter sobs but it took him some time to comprehend that the person who was crying was him.

 

Rhodey gathered him in his arms and held him tight as Tony broke.

 

*

 

Tony stayed holed up in his room for two days, refusing to eat or see anyone. Any food left in front of his door was left untouched. Even Rhodey couldn’t reach him. He was considering trying to operate the Iron Patriot armor again and break into Tony’s rooms when the genius finally crawled out.

 

By that time Rhodey and Vision had prepared an intervention. And when Tony reached out for his usual pot of coffee Rhodey quickly snatched it away.

“Tony”, he began seriously, “we need to talk.”

 

Tony glared, his eyes fixed on the pot of coffee. “Caffeine. Then talk”, he demanded.

 

Rhodey shook his head, then looked pointedly at Tony’s still perfectly flat stomach.

 

“Do you want this chance?”, he simply asked.

 

Tony visibly flinched. “How can you even ask me that?”

 

His friend sighed and put the pot away. “Then say goodbye to 10 cups of coffee every day and ‘food’ that has been frozen for years before being so deeply fried that everything you consume has turned into sheer poison by the time you digest it.”

 

Vision pointedly pushed a plate of freshly baked chicken breast and green salad along with some fresh orange juice closer to the frowning engineer.

 

“You need to get used to a more healthy diet”, he said.

 

*

 

The doctor was right. And even if Tony would never admit it, he needed all the support he could get. He needed more people in his life, people he could rely on, could really trust. And as it turned out, so did someone else.

 

“Come on, Tony, spend some time with him, hear him out. He obviously needs to talk to you.”

 

“He needs guidance. I’m hardly the good example he should consult with.”

 

“And anyone else is hardly as smart as you are, which is quite inspirational for a kid like him.”

 

“Getting knocked up by someone who clearly doesn’t care about me wasn’t very smart, Rhodey. I’m no one’s hero.”

 

“You’re wrong, Tony. And for better or worse, you’re his hero.”

 

“Yeah and even if I am, maybe I just don’t want him to get disappointed with me!”

 

“Er, I don’t think that’s even possible…”

 

Tony turned around sharply. Peter Parker stood hesitantly by the door of the living room, fidgeting nervously.

 

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do to disappoint me… sir.”

 

“Never underestimate a Stark”, Tony noted. “And don’t call me sir, please.”

 

“Look, Mr. Stark…”

 

“Tony.”

 

“Tony”, Peter nodded. “Look, I got these… powers, recently. Outta the blue. They were scary and confusing and hard to control, but I managed. And for a second there I believed that I was a part of something great. And now that the Avengers are no longer a thing I have literally no idea what do to. You’re the smartest man I know. Any advice would be great.”

 

“I don’t know if I’m any good with advices. Especially right now”, Tony said quietly.

 

“Any advice is better than no advice”, Peter insisted.

 

“Not necessarily”, Tony countered, but then he added quickly, “But you can come here any time. You can even move in, if your aunt lets you. God knows there’s enough room. And I’ll… I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”

 

“Yeah?”, Peter’s eyes lit up.

 

“Yeah”, Tony nodded.

 

“Cool! I have a question right now. How did you get knocked up?”

 

*

 

His finger hovered over the device, hesitant. He had left everything and everyone behind, convinced it was for the best. And Tony might be brash, arrogant and loud but he wouldn’t try to reach him through an untraceable phone he had provided himself for emergencies if it wasn’t really urgent.

 

He pressed the icon for voicemail, listening to his friend’s shaky voice.

 

_“Hey, Brucie-Bear. I hope you’re okay, wherever you are right now. I’d ask how the weather is, but we both know I’m not just calling to hear from you or pressure you into coming back. The thing is, I really need you here, buddy. Something happened and I… I kinda need a doctor I can trust. I’m okay… mostly… I guess. But it’s um, a truly unique case and there’s no one else I can trust…”_

Tony’s voice broke a bit and he took a deep breath.

 

_“Look. I don’t know if you heard but there are no Avengers, not anymore. This is not a trap to get you back. I need you, Bruce. It’s personal.”_

The beep as the message ended echoed in the otherwise empty place.

 

*

 

“Are you sure you want this?”, Steve asked.

 

Bucky smiled crookedly. “Yeah. As long as that thing is still in my head and anyone could trigger it I don’t feel safe in my own skin. _That_ , and you need to patch things up with Stark. And that can’t happen with me around.”

 

“Buck…”

 

“No, _you_ listen to me, Stevie. I’ve never seen you like this. Not even with Peggy and I know you were head over heels in love with her. But watching you around Stark… Man, if we were back in the 40s, you know what I was going to say.”

 

“He’s not what we were told Omegas were. He would never be tame, meek and submissive to anyone. And he would never see us this way.”

 

“Never say never”, Bucky winked, stepping into the cryo capsule.

 

“I’ll find a way to get you out of here, Buck”, Steve swore.

 

Bucky’s smile was the last thing he saw before the front panel was closed.

 

*

 

“So. How did it happen?”, Bruce asked, examining the results from Tony’s check-up while the genius pulled his shirt back on.

 

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

 

Bruce scoffed. “You know what I mean.”

 

Tony shrugged. “We got close. Or at least it looked that way. I was looking for surrogates and asked him to donate.” Tony snorted. “Ironic, huh?”

 

“Would you say he was wooing you?”

 

Tony frowned. “What are you getting at?”

 

Bruce sighed. “Look, Tony, I really don’t mean to pry. You know, me of all people. I can read between the lines and I see it didn’t end so well. You really don’t need to tell me. What I’m getting at, is that dormant as your Omega genes are they need a Mate to…”

 

“Whoa, whoa! I will stop you right there, Brucie-Bear, with your romantic ideas. We fucked once. Yep. It’s really that pathetic. No wooing, no bonding, no Mates.”

 

“Tony, the quicker you accept this, the better for you and the chi-…”

 

“I cannot accept something that is not real!”

 

“Your body and your genetic code obviously recognized Steve as your…”

 

“Stop saying that! Just… stop…”

 

Bruce sighed. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you and you’re going to like it even less. The further you get into the pregnancy, the more your body and, on some level, your mind and soul are going to crave your partner. And when the time has come to deliver the-…”

 

“I’ll do it by myself”, Tony hissed, eyes narrowed, stubborn and angry. “All alone if I have to.”

 

Bruce sighed. “You don’t have to.”

 

“If you start again about…”

 

“That’s why I’m here. Rhodes and Vision as well. Even Parker. You’re not alone, Tony.”

 

*

 

“Sir, Captain Rogers requests a visit _once again_.”

 

Tony rolled his eyes. Served him right to always have sassy A.I.-s.

 

“Then ignore him _once again_ , FRIDAY.”

 

“He also left a message…”

 

“Which you are going to delete…”

 

“To you and Dr. Banner.”

 

Great, now the blonde menace was pestering his science-bro.

 

“Has Bruce…”, Tony began, only to be interrupted by his own A.I.

 

“He has already heard the message.”

 

“Shit.”

 

“You are indeed very deep in it, sir.”

 

“Are you a sarcastic little shit because you’re a woman or because _I_ designed you?!”

 

“Both, I believe.”

 

*

 

Pepper had had enough. And by the time she burst into Tony’s shop he had missed 12 Important Meetings. Ones she had specifically told him not to.

 

“Tony, I swear to all that is holly…!”

 

“Careful with that.”

 

“ _What_ have you been doing these past four months?!”

 

“Mostly throwing up”, Tony said, turning around on his chair.

 

Pepper stared, uncomprehending.

 

“Is that a beer belly? Are you drinking again?”

 

Tony snorted. “Nope. Not a sip.”

 

“Then what is…?”

 

Tony gently caressed his slightly swollen stomach.

 

“All that is holly right now”, he smirked. “I’m… expecting”, he added carefully.

 

Pepper burst laughing.

 

Tony didn’t join her.

 

“Wait… what? This is a joke, right? I don’t always get your sense of humor, but…?”

 

“It’s not a joke, Pep”, he said softly.

 

She stared at him, long and considering in that mind-reading way of hers. And apparently, even after all that time they still had that thing, that connection between them, because she didn’t ask the usual “how” or even “who”. She smiled a small, private smile and shook her head as she dragged another chair closer to him and took his hand.

 

“You always find a way to get what you want, Tony Stark. One impossible way or another.”

 

He forced on a watery smile. And managed to hold it for as long as she asked how he was.

 

“I’m terrified, Pep”, he half-whispered, half-sobbed, his head falling on her shoulder as his body shook uncontrollably and his other oldest friend held him tight.

 

*

 

Natasha did ask all the “how” and “who”. Right after she had let herself in and a few FRIDAY-run Marks had aimed a small arsenal at her.

 

Now, with the Marks dismissed and both of them calm and resting on the sofa in the living room, Natasha still wouldn’t let go of the subject.

 

“You need to let him know, Tony. Imagine yourself in his position.”

 

“I was not the one to choose another guy…”

 

“His best friend.”

 

“And let the man I’ve just slept with trapped in a broken armor in the middle of Siberia!”

 

Natasha had nothing to say to that.

 

*

 

Rhodey had just the thing to say to that.

 

“Tones, the Lord is my witness, you have made so many, so big mistakes. Forget your twenties. Forget that birthday while you were dying of palladium poisoning and no one knew. Tones… Steve forgave you Ultron. That’s not a small miscalculation on your side. It was a big fucking mess and the guy stayed by your side as you were trying to fix it.”

 

Arguments like those did not make it any easier for Tony to decide whether Ultron equaled Siberia.

 

*

 

_“So, Natasha reminded me you don’t appreciate uninvited guests. And I do like my ass intact. So does Laura by the way; she says hello. Lila wants to meet you as well. She misses you and…”_

There was a heavy sigh.

 

_“Look, Tony, I know we didn’t part on the best of ways but I’m sorry for what I said back in that prison. Everyone makes mistakes. Some of us get mind-fucked by a twisted motherfucker and some have the best intentions and just get lost on their way. I just thought to let you know that if you need anything you can count on me.”_

Tony gritted his teeth as the message ended.

 

*

 

When Thor eventually came back from Asgard he wasn’t really all that surprised.

 

“I must admit that I did not expect it from you. But otherwise I do not see what the unusual thing is”, he said.

 

Tony and Rhodey exchanged a look.

 

“Well. I am a man, Thor”, Tony pointed out.

 

“Yes? Are males not supposed to carry a child in this realm? I am still not acquainted enough with your world”, Thor looked genuinely confused.

 

“Well, _are_ they supposed to carry a child in _your_ realm?”, Tony was getting annoyed.

 

“Of course! It is a great honor that male and female warriors share equally!”

 

“…Huh”, Tony and Rhodey said in unison.

 

*

 

Tony stood in the middle of the small room right next to his own, rubbing his growing stomach and staring thoughtfully at the walls, blue-tinted by the holographics.

 

“Red and gold?”, he suggested.

 

“Of course, sir”, FRIDAY answered in a way that suggested she would have rolled her eyes if she had any.

 

The walls and the holographic furniture got painted in the colors he had asked for. Even for him it was too much.

 

“Silver?”, he wondered out loud.

 

Everything got repainted in different silver hues. It was not very child-friendly. It looked cold and detached.

 

“White.”

 

It did look stylish, but too sterile, like no one actually lived here much less a child.

 

“Add some red and blue.”

 

It brought some color in it, while still looking stylish and fancy. And it was only going to be a main theme, not like there weren’t gonna be any other colors in there.

 

“Excellent choice, sir”, FRIDAY said.

 

It wasn’t stars and stripes. It could be anything painted in those colors. Like France. He loved France.

 

“Yeah”, Tony choked out. “Show it to the workers and get it done.”

 

*

 

Tony read the instructions for probably the first time in his life.

 

“Are we sure I need a sterilizer?”, he asked.

 

“Pretty sure, sir”, FRIDAY confirmed.

 

Tony nodded to himself, stocking away the bottles and pacifiers.

 

“Maybe we should look for clothes”, he thought out loud.

 

“Of course, sir. May I just add that Captain Rogers is calling once again?”

 

“I’m busy. Open baby sites. Use the fake-named credit card. Search for… uh. Onesies? Hats, I think they usually need hats when they’re small…”

 

“Excellent observation, sir.”

 

“Do not sass me. Call Pepper. What do they even wear?”

 

FRIDAY would have sighed a lot if she could.

 

*

 

Baby clothes were Tony’s new passion. Turned out there was so much _choice_! And then… then you could make your _own design_.

 

He learnt to fold the tiny things into neat piles he then stocked into the newly ordered dressers. He could sit on his rocking chair for hours when he wasn’t in the shop and examine his own designs. Distracting himself from the idea of impending birth, like Pepper had pointed out before she had been pointedly ignored.

 

“Sir, Captain Rogers…”

 

“Shut up, FRIDAY, I’m in too good of a mood for this”, Tony bit out, smiling at a T-shirt with Iron Man’s helmet saying “I am your Father”.

 

*

 

“Doctor Banner, sir requests your assistance.”

 

“Whu…?”, Bruce opened a bleary eye and tried to focus it at the general direction of the ceiling.

 

“With the chil-…”

 

“Oh my God!”

 

He jumped from his bed, hastily throwing on some jeans and a hoodie, bolting through his door and running down the hall. He burst into Tony’s room, panting.

 

“I’m here, I’m awake, let’s go!”

 

Tony blinked from his bed, a picture of innocence. He looked at his phone.

 

“One minute twenty-five seconds. Not bad, Brucie-Bear”, he noted, writing down the result in his notebook.

 

“…What.”

 

It didn’t sound like a question, because Bruce was too confused and sleepy for that shit.

 

“We have to be ready. Have to train and all”, Tony explained.

 

“It’s four in the morning, Tony!”

 

“It could happen in four in the morning!”

 

Bruce threw his arms in the air and turned around to go back to sleep.

 

*

 

Tony was a ball of nervous energy that looked like it had swallowed another huge ball. He kept pacing between his room and the nursery, always adding this or that, always convinced that he had missed something, something really important. He was getting frustrated, unable to figure something out for probably the first time in his life.

 

But for those observing from the side it was quite obvious – Tony was in denial. His instincts knew what he was missing even if he wouldn’t admit it even to himself.

 

Natasha sighed, making a decision to take matters in her own hands. Again.

 

*

 

“I tried, Natasha. The Lord is my witness that I keep trying to reach him, every day. He never takes the calls.”

 

“Maybe you just need more drastic measures in order to see him.”

 

Steve sighed, looking down at his coffee. And what would those drastic measures be? Break and enter in the most well protected tower?

 

Natasha’s small hand covered his in a gentle and a bit hesitant way.

 

“Steve. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I thought he could do this on his own. But he can’t, whether he accepts it or not. He’s not missing some _thing_ , no matter how desperately he tries to fill in the empty space. He misses some _one_. He needs his mate.”

 

Steve frowned. “I thought they repealed the system…”

 

“Some things are too quickly deemed wrong or impossible”, Natasha said cryptically.

 

Strong fists clenched harder above the table.

 

“Cut the bullshit, Nat. What’s going on?”

 

*

 

“You had no right to tell him!!!”

 

“He has all the right to know...!”

 

“It’s not _your_ information to just…!”

 

“Sir, Captain Rogers is getting more persistent and demands to see you.”

 

“Shut down all and any entries! Ignore any phone calls!”

 

“Tony, that’s not the way to…”

 

Tony’s eyes suddenly went wide and terrified. He grabbed his huge belly with one hand and the closest sturdy object with his other one as his knees went weak.

 

“Get out of here”, he wheezed.

 

“Tony!”, Natasha tried. But she could see it his eyes – she had crossed the line, even with the best intentions. He didn’t trust her right now. And right now he needed all the people he could _trust_.

 

“Emergency protocol 13”, Tony rasped out, his eyes full of pain and betrayal as he stared at Natasha right before a steel wall came out of nowhere, separating them.

 

*

 

“Doctor Banner. Sir requests your assistance”, FRIDAY said again as a small holographic window opened in the middle of Bruce’s lab.

 

“Tony, I swear, if that’s another fake call…”, he turned around, looking into the holographic image of Tony, curled into a ball in an elevator, gasping in pain.

 

“Not a training, Bruce”, he rasped out.

 

“Shit!”, he cursed, bolting from his chair and heading where Tony had obviously headed.

 

The tower’s very own surgery.

 

*

 

Natasha came out of the tower, looking defeated and apologetic; right until she saw Steve, bent over in pain, barely breathing.

 

“Steve!”, she called, running towards him and kneeling down to be on his eye-level.

 

“It’s happening, isn’t it?”, he panted.

 

She didn’t have to answer. He already knew – mates could feel each other’s pain.

 

*

 

“Oh my goooooooood!”, Tony hollered, curled on the table as Bruce bustled around him.

 

“It is okay, Anthony, I am here!”, Thor placated.

 

“Not you! Jesus, take me now…”, he sobbed, still not letting go of Thor’s hand.

 

“Tony! Hey, listen to me now”, Bruce came into view. “I’m going to put you under. Everything’s going to be alright. We’ll take care of you guys, okay?”, he said as he emptied the syringe into the IV.

 

Tony nodded, his eyes already closing.

 

“Don’t… don’t let…”, he tried.

 

Bruce sighed.

 

“Yeah, Tony. You have my word.”

 

Another small nod and Tony was out like a candle.

 

Thor shook his hand. “He does have a strong grip for a Midgardian.”

 

*

 

Tony reemerged from the anesthesia slowly. His eyelids trembled as he fought to open his eyes sooner but it was hard, so hard. He groaned, stirring in his bed. _His_ bed. It was over then, it had to be. Now he just had to open his eyes, open his eyes, why was it so difficult...

 

He finally managed, blinking his way into full consciousness. Everything was blurry. Rhodey’s face was the first that came into focus. His friend smiled tentatively.

 

Tony tried to sit up, looking around desperately. The beeping sound from the machines he was hooked on intensified.

 

“Hey, hey, easy there, Tones”, Rhodey’s hand gently pushed him back down.

 

“Wh’r…”, Tony tried.

 

Rhodey’s smile widened a bit and he moved to the side.

 

Tony’s breath hitched and he fought to sit up again, this time getting some help from his friend. He felt his eyes watering as he looked down at what was positively his own…

 

“Miracle. It’s a miracle…”, he whispered.

 

*

 

**_Six months later_ **

****

Tony stared at the opposite wall with unseeing eyes. He was tired, so tired. Enough that he could drop down in the hallway and pass out.

 

Which is exactly what he had done according to Clint who had found him 15 minutes ago and gently woken him up.

 

“This can’t go on like that, Tony”, Clint said from across the hallway, where he had sat down opposite from Tony with his back against the wall. “It’s dangerous for you.”

 

“I’m not doing everything on my own. Bruce and Vision help, Rhodey too. You. I have… people.”

 

“You need…”

 

“Don’t say it”, Tony begged quietly.

 

But he knew it either way. He knew it when he looked into a pair of very familiar blue eyes, every single day. He knew it when his son smiled that dimpled smile. He knew it in those stolen moments of sleep when his dreams took him back in those strong arms he missed so fucking much it hurt. He knew it when he woke up in Steve’s old room, not knowing how he had gotten there. It wasn’t just parenthood that exhausted him, though it did drain him. It was something their society had vehemently denied for decades.

 

He missed his other half. And no friends and other family could fill in that void.

 

“Everyone makes mistakes, Tony. And you forgave everyone else”, Clint said.

 

“Forgiving _him_ is the hardest”, he admitted quietly.

 

“I know. But you have to. Sticking up to your bad memories and stubbornness would be your biggest mistake.”

 

Tony sighed. He knew Clint was right. He should let Steve back in. He just had to man up and do it.

 

*

 

Steve almost didn’t recognize the man who was staring back from the shiny metal of the elevator wall. He looked older, tired, haggard. Nervous.

 

Wanda took his hand tentatively and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She tried for an encouraging smile but it came out just as shaky and nervous.

 

Tony’s invitation came out of nowhere. Steve had tried to reach him numerous times. It had been months. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, couldn’t function at all without his mate. He had no news about Tony or the child. He had tried everything: he begged Tony to let him see them, left thousands of messages to him and Bruce and Rhodes, even Vision. It was all in vain and the tower remained an impregnable fortress.

 

Until today.

 

Tony had invited both him and Wanda with no explanation whatsoever. It was the first time they saw each other since everything had fallen apart.

 

The elevator doors opened soundlessly, directly into the penthouse. Both of them took a deep breath and stepped in.

 

Everything was the same. And everything was different.

 

There was a soft padded play mat and an activity gym right in front of the couch. A colorful blanket was draped across the back of the sofa and a few bottles and pacifiers were left on the table. A few rattles made them company, one of them shaped like Iron Man.

 

The figure sitting in a comfortable rocking chair by the glass wall stood up carefully, took a deep breath and turned around.

 

Steve felt his eyes go wide as they tried to comprehend what they were seeing. Next to him Wanda was just as thunderstruck.

 

Tony cleared his throat.

 

“These are Sarah Marie and Max Pietro Stark”, he said, holding the twins just a little bit tighter in his arms.

 

*

 

Wanda had spent ten minutes just holding Max and staring down at him in wonder. She had then burst laughing and informed Tony that her brother had actually dyed his hair and was not in fact a blonde like Max.

 

“I knew that! I totally knew that. It’s a cool name, that’s all”, Tony argued.

 

Wanda had just smiled, kissed his cheek and whispered a quiet “thank you” before she had left them alone.

 

It was of course too early to tell if Max’s hair would remain blonde like Steve’s, but Sarah’s eyes were definitely the very same shade as his own; the very same shade as her grandmother’s, whose name she had succeeded. Her hair was dark though, like Tony’s. Tony’s eyes were inherited by his other child, Max.

 

While he was staring at his children Tony must have stared at him because he suddenly said,

 

“You grew a beard…”

 

Steve looked up, just in time to see Tony looking away, blushing slightly.

 

“You shaved yours off”, he noted.

 

Tony shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. He took Max and Sarah and started walking towards the door.

 

“Tony, wait!”, Steve called. “Can we talk?”

 

“…Not yet”, Tony said, barely even slowing down.

 

“Can I stay?”

 

That actually made Tony pause for a second.

 

“…Yes”, was all he said before he left the room.

 

*

 

A week passed. Tony never really left him alone with the twins. But he let him learn. Changing the first nappy was something Steve would never, ever forget – he couldn’t believe a being as tiny as Max could produce something so smelly and horrible. Tony looked from the side with what looked like grim satisfaction and gave Steve instructions.

 

“Wipe what you can with the baby wipes. They’re handy when you’re outside and you can only count on them. But when you have a bath at your disposal, wash him… Not the whole of him! That’s before bedtime. Wash his butt. Yep. Now wipe him again. With the soft towel over there. The blue one is Max’s. Now put him on the changing mat. Uh, lift his legs and put a napkin first. Look, like that. No, he’s just fine. Now powder. A little bit! If the skin looks red, there’s an ointment over there. Now put on the diaper. This side up. Yep. Of course he wiggles, Steve, just stick it on…”

 

Feeding them was a feat in itself. Max loved bananas and pears puree. Sarah preferred hers all over the kitchen. Feeding both of them took only about 40 minutes.

 

Putting them to sleep was the only thing Steve was good at. On the first day he managed to do it in 15 minutes by quietly singing to them. Tony didn’t look pleased – he had walked out of the room with no comment.

 

“It usually takes him at least half an hour”, Clint smirked from where he was leaning against the door case. “They like your voice. So does Tony by the way.”

 

“Didn’t look so”, Steve muttered.

 

“Well, you chose a stubborn mate, buddy”, Clint shook his head.

 

Steve was well aware that finding your true mate was something extremely rare these days. He didn’t really know if he chose Tony or Tony chose him or maybe it was fate or genetics and orientations. All he knew was that Tony was the one for him. He just wished that Tony would return those feelings. But for now it didn’t look so.

 

*

 

“Look, I’m really trying, he just _wiggles_ so much!”, Steve exclaimed.

 

Tony sighed and took the diaper from his hand. “I got it.”

 

*

 

Tony didn’t really trust him. Nor did FRIDAY.

 

“Uh, FRIDAY?”

 

“Yes, Captain?”

 

“Can you pull up my medical files from the Ne-… What was that?”, Steve frowned as something barely flicked through the screen.

 

“Nothing.”

 

He noted the pointedly missed “sir” or “captain”, but his mind was onto something else.

 

“Was that… Tony’s file?”

 

Silence.

 

“Show me. Please.”

 

It was a full-body picture. Tony was nearly naked, wearing only boxer-briefs. He was all black and blue: he had a black eye, his whole chest was bruised purple, there were cuts and gashes of different sizes all over his body. He wasn’t looking at the camera, but at his feet. Steve gulped dryly, trying to read the doctor’s notes. It was all written in obscure medical terminology.

 

“I don’t understand…”, he began.

 

“I can translate if you want me to”, FRIDAY helpfully suggested.

 

“Yeah…”, he muttered, still staring at the bruises.

 

“Broken cheekbone, fractured jaw, broken collarbone, severe damage of the solar plexus and the diaphragm, three fractured and two broken ribs…”

 

But Steve’s eyes had stopped on the date when the picture was taken. The day of their fight in Siberia.

 

Tony had already been carrying the twins.

 

“ _severe damage of the solar plexus and the diaphragm…_ ”

 

Steve’s own breath hitched as he remembered the blow that had broken the arc reactor and Tony’s armor.

 

“ _three fractured and two broken ribs…”_

 

Only a few millimeters from a lung, Tony’s heart… or his own children…

 

“Enough”, he rasped out.

 

“Do you want me to contact you with the doctor who did the check-up?”

 

Steve shook his head. “You wanted me to see that, didn’t you? You wanted me to know.”

 

_To know what I’ve done._

FRIDAY didn’t answer instead choosing to ask a question of her own.

 

“Would you like me to view your medical file now?”

 

Steve had forgotten what he had needed it for.

 

*

 

Another week passed. They never spent any time alone. Tony never talked to him about anything other than direct tips about dealing with the twins.

 

*

 

“I feel like I’ve missed everything. And he tells me nothing”, Steve confided quietly as he tried to catch his breath during their usual Friday morning sparring.

 

Natasha dropped her attacking stance. “Maybe you just ask the wrong source”, she said.

 

Steve sighed. He had an idea what she meant. But after the last time, should he even try?

 

*

 

“FRIDAY.”

 

“Yes, Captain Rogers?”

 

“Can you… show me footage of Tony’s pregnancy?”

 

There was a careful pause.

 

“I have not been forbidden to”, FRIDAY said.

 

Steve waited some more. “Would you?”, he finally asked when nothing followed.

 

Another pause.

 

“Yes, Captain.”

 

The holographic screen flicked to life, showing a hospital room; Tony, in a gown, sat motionless on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Rhodes looked worried as he kept throwing glances between his best friend and the doctor. Tony suddenly laughed, but his laugh turned into sobs as he burrowed his head on Rhodes’ shoulder.

 

A small note in the right bottom corner said, “8 weeks.” He must have just heard the news.

 

The next video showed Tony, violently throwing up in the toilet. Vision stoically sat next to him with a towel and a glass of water.

 

Next. Tony, eating sticks of yellow cheese he dipped into a jar of honey-mustard. He stood up, opened the fridge and pulled out a carrot-cake.

 

Next. Peter Parker, delivering a box of doughnuts.

 

Next. Tony, sleeping on the couch, an _Indiana Jones_ movie long forgotten. Pepper walked by, paused and gently draped a blanket over him.

 

A blur of Tony eating impossible and outright gross combinations of foods (the honey-mustard and tomatoes preponderated) mixed with long naps and some more throwing-up followed.

 

Then, Tony, a lot more round, choosing baby clothes. Tony, looking lost in the future nursery, choosing colors (Steve noticed and tried to ignore the Captain America pattern). Tony, folding the small onesies, pants, dresses and T-shirts as he rocked back and forth on his new rocking chair. Tony, tossing around in his bed, unable to find a comfortable sleeping position. Tony, ending up with a U-shaped pillow, that was supposed to help with the back pain but only served to annoy him and nearly strangle him. Tony, stocking away bottles, pacifiers and something Steve had no idea about. Tony, buying the cribs; the gyms and play mats; the toys; his smile was quick to bloom on his face, but there was something missing in it, something Steve knew and couldn’t exactly pinpoint but kept searching and waiting for.

 

Tony, literally building a wall between himself and Natasha, before bending in half, all but crawling into the lift. Tony, on an operating table, clutching Thor’s hand, while Bruce rushed around them.

 

“Note that he holds my right hand.”

 

Steve turned around, startled. Thor, smiling fondly, looked away from the flickering image only to stare right back at him.

 

“This is the hand I hold Mjolnir with. He broke it.”

 

Steve felt his eyebrows lift up in surprise. Thor just nodded towards the screen, making the blonde turn back around.

 

Tony, staring in wonder at the two small bundles, tears sliding down his cheeks as a huge smile split his face. Tony, looking completely lost at the wailing babies; he had dark circles under his eyes and looked seconds away from passing out. Tony, waiting in front of the elevators; the doors opened to reveal Clint.

 

Clint, showing Tony how to feed, bathe and put the twins to sleep, the genius watching intently, soaking up every little thing. Tony, gathering the archer into a bone-crushing hug. Clint was hesitant for a second before he returned the hug with a small smile.

 

Tony, singing to the twins for over half an hour.

 

“That’s why it takes him so long. You don’t put a child to sleep with _Metallica_. Even if it’s _Enter Sandman_ ”, Clint snorted, sitting down next to Steve on the couch.

 

On the screen, Tony stood in front of the elevator again, this time with a repulsor gauntlet on, obviously alerted by FRIDAY. The doors opened and Phil measured him before lifting his hands slowly; it was the first time Steve saw him in something other than a suit, but simple jeans and a white shirt. There was a duffle bag on his shoulder.

 

_“I’m not here on SHIELD business. Clint is on a mission. I heard you needed help.”_

_“You’re here to babysit?”, Tony snorted._

_Phil lifted his chin_. _“I’ve watched Super Nanny, you know.”_

 

Phil stayed. He kept going to work and coming back but he had a room in the tower. On Tony’s floor, like Bruce and Rhodey and Clint.

 

Natasha didn’t. Not on the same floor. But she did live here after a tentative talk and a not-quite apology. The screen showed her playing peek-a-boo with a giggling Max as Tony watched fondly from the side.

 

“See? You have the resources to ask, Steve”, Natasha winked from behind the couch.

 

Steve took a deep breath.

 

He had the knowledge. And he had a lifetime of groveling and apologies to even begin redeeming himself from his guilt. Now he just had to find the guts to win his mate again.

 

*

 

Tony walked into the kitchen, still sleepy, even after he had changed and fed the twins. He spotted Steve by the countertop closer to the fridge, so he sat by the other breakfast bar. He pulled out a StarkPad checking his plan for the day.

 

A plate of homemade bread, yellow cheese sticks and tomatoes along with a jar of honey-mustard carefully landed in front of him. He blinked a few times, slowly comprehending what he was seeing. He tried to fight down his smile when he asked,

 

“Who told you?”

 

“Someone who was not forbidden to.”

 

Tony’s smile widened against his will and he shook his head.

 

“I’m over the cravings now”, he said, finally meeting Steve’s eyes.

 

“Like you are over us?”, Steve asked, not breaking the eye-contact.

 

Nearly a minute passed before Tony slowly picked up a cheese stick and dipped it into the mustard.

 

“I just like cheese and honey-mustard. That is literally all there is to it”, he sniffed.

 

“Of course”, Steve smiled, handing him his mug of coffee. “Here. I bet you missed this while you were… carrying the twins”, he said carefully.

 

It took a lot of sheer stubbornness for Tony not to smile into his coffee – with two sugars and just a drop of milk, just the way he liked it.

 

*

 

A week passed. Tony started walking into the kitchen in the morning, _expecting_ his breakfast. Made by Steve. It wasn’t enough of an apology, nothing could ever be. But it was a beginning.

 

*

 

Steve walked out on the rooftop, carrying his usual sketchbook and a few pencils. Dusk was slowly falling down over Manhattan and everything was bathed in a soft glow. Everything looked slower, calmer and the light wasn’t perfect, but somehow, for Steve, it was just right. It was his favorite time of the day.

 

Someone sniffed and caught Steve’s attention as a figure fidgeted on the very edge of the building.

 

“Whoa, hey, easy there, pal, don’t make another move!”, he called, his sketchpad and pencils falling on the rooftop, forgotten.

 

The boy turned around, startled, blinking a few times before he suddenly burst laughing.

 

“I ain’t gonna fall, sir, I assure you”, the boy said.

 

Steve frowned, inspecting the youngster. “You’re Peter Parker, right?”

 

“Yes, sir”, the boy nodded, sniffing again and rubbing at his nose as he looked down.

 

“Did something upset you?”, Steve asked.

 

“It’s nothing, sir. I’m fine”, the boy sniffed again.

 

Steve sighed.

 

“First of all, please just call me Steve. Can I come sit with you?”

 

Parker looked genuinely surprised and a bit shy as he nodded again, not meeting his eyes. Steve stepped closer, slowly, still on edge even if he had seen the boy maintaining balance on every surface. He sat down on the edge of the tower and stared at the sunset.

 

“You know, I really hate those words. Tony uses them when he feels really bad and he thinks he’s fooling everyone. But, trust me when I say that, kid, everyone knows you are _not_ fine when you claim that you are.”

 

Peter fidgeted again. Steve didn’t give up.

 

“I know you and Tony got close. I’d like to thank you for being there for him when I wasn’t. But he has a lot on his plate right now. So if you want to, you can talk to me instead.”

 

It took more than a minute. But then, finally…

 

“My aunt is getting suspicious. And the lies are just getting between us a-and I… I can’t really tell her the truth either, you know? And I feel like there’s that big void between us, growing more and more with every lie and she’s my only family…”

 

Peter startled a little when Steve’s hand gently landed on his shoulder and his big brown eyes stared at Steve’s own blue orbs in wonder. Steve smiled.

 

“It’s always hard keeping secrets from your family. Even if it’s for the best, for their own good. I can’t promise it would get better, easier. I can only promise you that you have another family here. You have people to talk to. And sometimes, that helps.”

 

Peter smiled a little.

 

“You know what else helps? Double chocolate ice cream”, Steve grinned.

 

“Yeah? Do we have any?”, Peter asked hopefully.

 

“Clint bought a gallon yesterday”, Steve nodded as he stood up and offered his hand to the boy.

 

Alerted from the very beginning about Peter’s precautious stance on the roof, Tony quietly observed the scene through a holographic screen in the nursery.

 

*

 

Tony observed from the side as Steve cleaned up the twins and proudly produced a new bag of diapers. He pulled one out and simply pulled it on a wiggling Max. No stickers.

 

“Okay, what is this sorcery?”, Tony demanded.

 

“Pampers Pants”, Steve grinned.

 

*

 

It was dark outside and Tony had just gone to give the twins a bath before bedtime. Steve moved around the living room, folding a forgotten blanket, picking up a toy Sarah had sent flying under the table or putting the caps back on their pacifiers. There was a forgotten CD case on the table and Steve flipped the cover to read the name of the album. _Shadowmaker_.

 

“It’s Phil’s”, Tony said, making Steve startle and turn around. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

 

“Didn’t know he listened to this kind of music”, Steve admitted.

 

Tony shrugged, smirking a bit. “He did say there was a cellist…”

 

Steve’s eyes widened. “You mean… one of them?!”

 

Tony shrugged again, badly hiding his smile before he smugly left the room.

 

*

 

Steve was in the gym when his phone buzzed. Tony’s single-worded message of “help” was enough to make him run up all the five floors to his mate’s floor.

 

“Tony!?”

 

“In here”, Tony called miserably.

 

Steve burst in the nursery, looking around like a madman, expecting at least an army of psycho-robots.

 

Tony blinked from his rocking chair, holding his two wide-eyed miracles.

 

Steve dropped his stance. “What is it?”, he panted.

 

“I surrender”, Tony declared with a rough voice, making the blonde frown.

 

“Wha-..?”

 

“They have no music taste. From now on you put them to sleep.”

 

Steve leaned on the closest wall, taking a deep breath. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

 

“Your spawns gave me insomnia, we’re even.”

 

 _Oh, so now they’re **my** spawns_ , Steve thought but instead he just said,

 

“You’ve always been an insomniac.”

 

“Only now I _want_ to sleep and will pretty much just pass out if they let me! Go! Take a shower and come back here to do your magic!”

 

Steve rolled his eyes, but straightened up and prepared to do just so.

 

“Where are you going?”, Tony asked, alarmed.

 

“To take a shower, you just told me to…?”

 

“Use the en-suite in my bedroom, it’s closer.”

 

When Steve gave him a _look_ , Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m sleep-deprived, Steve, I need you to do your mojo, as soon as possible.”

 

Half an hour later Steve had two children and a genius engineer fast asleep – Sarah and Max in their cribs and Tony in his rocking chair. After he made sure the twins were cocooned in their blankets Steve gathered his mate and began walking towards his bedroom. Tony barely stirred, except for when he put him in his bed.

 

“St’ve?”, he mumbled.

 

“Yeah?”, he whispered back.

 

“I lik’d you bett’r with’t da beard…”

 

Steve grinned in the darkness. “I liked _you_ better _with_ a beard”, he said, kissing the top of Tony’s hair as he quietly left the room.

 

*

 

Steve shaved off his beard.

 

Tony grew his back on.

 

Steve started putting the twins to sleep, on his own.

 

*

 

There was a lean, long-haired male next to Phil, buzzing with energy. Phil rolled his eyes and heaved a huge sigh.

 

“Thor, there’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is…”

 

“Your fan, your biggest fan!”, the man squealed, making Phil grip the bridge of his nose with his thumb and middle finger.

 

He eventually told them his name, even though Steve had no chance of saying it.

 

“It’s Finnish. That’s why he’s so obsessed with Thor and Scandinavian mythology”, Phil muttered. There was an odd expression of exasperation and fondness on his face as he watched his… lover? interact with Thor. He must have caught Steve staring at him, because he smirked and said,

 

“I know how it looks. But I couldn’t deny him that. You of all people should be able to understand.”

 

Steve frowned. “Me of all people?”

 

Phil sighed. “I think he’s my mate.”

 

Blond brows shot up in surprise. “You… know that’s kind of rare these days…”

 

Phil said nothing but he did something odd: he slapped himself. A few feet away, with his back turned to them, his lover flinched and turned around with narrowed eyes.

 

“Not funny, _Philip_!”

 

“Minäkin rakastan sinua”, Phil smiled.  It obviously placated the man since he blushed adorably and turned back with a small smile.

 

*

 

Tony leaned against the nursery’s door frame, watching as Steve held both kids, swaying gently as he sang to them. He couldn’t hold back his smile as he recognized the song - _Dream_ _a little dream of me_. Even Sarah was dozing off and by the end of the song both of them had fallen asleep. The blonde paused for a kiss on each small brow before he tenderly put the twins in their beds and finally turned around. His eyes widened a little in surprise as he saw Tony, but his face soon relaxed into a small smile.

 

“So”, Tony said. “Ella Fitzgerald.”

 

Steve nodded. “She has so many great songs.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Mhm…”, Steve hummed, reaching a hand for Tony to take as he started singing quietly,

 

 _“_ _Someday he'll come along_  
The man I love  
And he'll be big and strong  
The man I love  
And when he comes my way  
I'll do my best to make him stay  
  


__  
He'll look at me and smile  
I'll understand  
And in a little while  
He'll take my hand  
And though it seems absurd  
I know we both won't say a word

 __  
  
Maybe I shall meet him Sunday  
Maybe Monday…”

“It was Friday…”, Tony muttered absentmindedly, making Steve grin as he continued,

 

_“He'll build a little home  
Just meant for two…”_

“Four? Ten, counting the bigger kids?”

 

 _“…_ _From which I'll never roam_  
Who would, would you?  
And so, all else above,  
I'm waiting for the man I love…” 

Tony cleared his throat, stepping back, still looking everywhere but Steve’s way.

 

“You do have a nice voice. Thanks… for the dance”, he said, before he hurried to leave.

 

Steve stayed back, the last traces of a smile still on his face. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a step up. Tony was slowly opening back to him.

 

*

 

Tony had to actually go to a meeting that day and finally spend some time at R&D. He left the twins to Steve’s care with only a longing look and no comments. It was a testament to how much he trusted the blonde already, since he didn’t know how much it would take and that wasn’t just letting Steve put them to sleep.

 

At noon Steve got a text, in Tony’s brisk and annoyed manner.

 

“ _hungry. bring food_.”

 

Steve knew the system already, leaving the twins to the next in line amongst Tony’s most trusted people – Rhodey. To be fair, the colonel wasn’t all that great with kids. That’s what Peter was for. Protect and entertain.

 

With the two of them taking care of Sarah and Max Steve went out to feed Tony.

 

“I could kill for that sandwich, what do you put in it?”, Tony moaned around a huge bite.

 

“Actual home-cooked meat, for one thing. My mother’s chili sauce…”

 

“I would have loved that woman.”

 

Steve smiled. “Is that why you named our daughter after her?”

 

Tony shrugged, taking another bite and looking away. “M’ mom too.”

 

Steve nodded. “She would have loved you too.”

 

Tony snorted. “Sorry. But I highly doubt that.”

“And why is that?”, Steve frowned.

 

“Well. First of all, I’m a man, and that wasn’t very well accepted back in your time. I have reeeeally bad reputation, that’s another con. I’m mouthy and difficult altogether. Don’t really see why she would have liked that for her only son.”

 

A moment passed in silence. When Tony finally looked up Steve was staring at him searchingly.

 

“I didn’t fall in love with your gender. I fell for you _despite_ your reputation and _because_ you’re mouthy and difficult. That’s what she would have liked too.”

 

There was a slight blush on Tony’s cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly, thanked Steve for the lunch and went back to finish his business.

 

It was a little bit later that Steve realized why he was feeling so high on endorphins in the middle of the day. It was the same feeling he usually felt in the morning as he prepared Tony’s breakfast – he had _provided_ for his mate. And Tony had not only allowed, but demanded it.

 

*

 

“Hey. Pete. Where are you, buddy?” 

 

Peter shook his head, eyes once again focusing on his much taller and tougher opponent for today’s sparring session. He was lucky Cap would never actually hit him for real; Peter could be strong enough to stop a metal fist, but could hardly answer Captain America’s real strength.

 

But Steve was more than just Captain America. Peter took a deep breath and dropped his barely there fighting stance.

 

“You said I could come to you if I needed advice…?”, he began hesitantly.

 

“Yes, of course”, Steve nodded readily.

 

Peter looked away, wondering how to phrase it without sounding like a whining brat.

 

“There’s someone bothering me at school.”

 

“And by bother you mean bully?”, Steve asked carefully.

 

Peter winced. “I just don’t want it come to a fight. For one thing, because I know you would be disappointed and then there’s the thing that before I got bitten I was the scrawny kid with no strength and no reflexes and-and it’s not like I can go parading around with secretly being Spiderman!”

 

Steve was dumbstruck. The kid obviously saw him as a father figure he didn’t want to disappoint and it warmed his heart to hear so. He’d always been a little protective of Peter, but now more than ever he felt like he actually had some right to feel that way and see the kid as one of his own.

 

And now that kid wanted advice and needed his help.

 

“I have an idea. But I’ll have to talk to the others before I tell you…”

 

*

 

“It’s pretty bad, Captain. We have 45 men down, Clint is still unconscious and the docs have benched Natasha since she lost so much blood…”

 

Steve clenched his teeth, staring at the tablet with a video-chat opened up.

 

“Phil, I told you I can’t be called on active duty right now…”

 

“Steve, we’re losing people! And fast! Sam was just taken down with a shot-gun and Carter is pretty much holding them all by herself right now!”

 

Steve felt himself hyperventilating, his whole world crumbling, narrowing down to a single dot, a single screeching sound. The strong hand on his shoulder startled him, making him flinch and look up; Tony’s resolve didn’t waver as he met his eyes calmly, straight on. The relief poured over Steve almost immediately and made him weak in the knees. He could breathe again, could think clearly again, was himself again.

 

His mate got his back. Tony’s support was everything for him now.

 

The genius nodded just barely, not breaking their eye-contact. “ _Go. Just be careful.”_

Steve nodded back before he turned back to the tablet and Phil’s tense face.

 

“I’ll be right there.”

 

*

 

Everyone came back safe and sound. Clint declared that he was going to retire.

 

He was on a mission on the very next day.

 

*

 

Tony dragged his feet into the kitchen and sat heavily down by the counter, waiting for his usual plate of Steve-approved and prepared breakfast. Bathing and feeding Sarah and Max had taken extra-long today and he hoped they’d be just as exhausted and take a longer nap now.

 

“I feel like I should just skip breakfast and go directly for lunch”, he muttered, rubbing at his eyes.

 

A plate was finally slowly slid in front of him.

 

“Please don’t do that…”, Steve said softly.

 

Tony looked down. There was something written with blueberries right on top of the heaping pile of pancakes.

 

_“Date with me?”_

He frowned slightly, looking up at hopeful blue eyes. He opened his mouth.

 

“Let me just say that I have arranged for babysitters for tonight!”, Steve began. “And we won’t even be out that long, just a couple of hours for ourselves. And maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I was hoping that maybe we had gotten a bit closer yet again and I’ve been missing y-… the time we used to spend together and…”

 

“You’re babbling”, Tony smiled.

 

Steve stopped abruptly and looked down at the counter, blushing slightly.

 

“I was just going to say that writing it with a chocolate topping would have probably been easier.”

 

Steve’s eyes focused on somewhere around Tony’s heart, still not meeting Tony’s brown orbs.

 

“And also… yes.”

 

Steve finally looked up and his whole face relaxed into a slow, real smile.

 

*

 

By the time Tony entered the den that evening in a simple white dress shirt and dark blue jeans Steve was already anxiously waiting. And so was the rest of the team. Tony stopped fixing his collar and stared at his teammates; Clint held Max and Sarah was drooling on a dummy in Bruce’s arms. All of them put wide, flashy smiles as he stepped in. All of them except for Steve, who tried to smile more naturally, but failed miserably in his nervousness. He wore blue, making his eyes stand out even more as they drank the sight of his mate. He cleared his throat, motioning towards the elevator.

 

“Shall we?”

 

Tony nodded, giving a last suspicious glare at the team.

 

“You kids behave”, he said.

 

“Awe, hear that, babies, Daddy says to be good…”, Clint cooed.

 

“I don’t think he was talking to the twins, Clint”, Natasha said as the elevator’s door closed.

 

*

 

Steve had booked a secluded booth in a small cozy Italian restaurant. The staff, also Italians, were pleasantly surprised when Tony spoke to them in their native language for much more time than it took for simply ordering. When the waiter finally went on his way, Tony turned back at a smiling Steve.

 

“What?”

 

The blonde shook his head. “You sound very confident.” _And sexy_.

 

Tony waved him off. “I’m not as fluent as I should be. As I used to be.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“My mother was Italian.”

 

“Ah”, Steve nodded. And then, “What was she like? Maria Stark.”

 

Tony looked thoughtful for a while; so long that Steve started to fidget.

 

“It’s really not my place to ask you anything about her…”

 

“She was… worried. Always worried. About me. About Howard’s drinking and then about mine. About not being as close to me as she would have liked to be, but wasn’t let to be.” Tony looked away, somewhat shrinking defensively. “I always felt that people saw her as a leech, having married my father only because of his wealth. But that wasn’t the case. She did really love him, even when he didn’t know how to love her back. I used to hate him for that. But now as I look back… I think that he was just too broken by the war; the people he had lost and all those who had tried to take advantage of his mind and fucked it up.”

 

“I’m sorry, Tony”, Steve muttered weakly.

 

The genius shrugged. “It wasn’t your fault.”

 

“But it kind of is. I was one of the people Howard lost. I was a project he couldn’t recreate, even when he was pressured and killed for that. I was… I was the one who didn’t tell you when I found out. And not just because of Bucky; I wish you’d understand that. I just wanted to spare you the pain. But maybe it was wrong…”

 

“Tell me about _your_ mother”, Tony suddenly interrupted him. When Steve gave him a look, he just shrugged, smiling a crooked smile. “I really don’t want to dwell in our darkest and ugliest past on a date. So. Sarah Rogers. That’s a story I’d much rather hear about.”

 

Steve nodded, staring into the table.

 

“She was kind of like you, actually”, he smiled, looking up just in time to see Tony’s eyebrows rise in surprise.

 

“Witty and opinionated?”

 

Steve laughed, shaking his head. “Fiercely protective. Brave, in a war time, as a single mother of a sick child. Strong, even when it looked like everything was falling apart. I wanted to make her proud. To not be a burden for once…”

 

“That’s why you enlisted”, Tony added and the blonde nodded.

 

“Yes. And then I met Erskine and your father”, Steve smiled again. “He could charm everyone around him. You took that trait from him.”

 

There was something carefully masked on Tony’s face when he asked, “Did he charm you?”

 

“As the greatest mind of his time, yes. As a man, romantically – no!”, Steve laughed, but then he became serious again. “The first and only man I have laid my eyes on are you.”

 

Tony blushed adorably and took a sip of his wine, looking away.

 

*

 

“Tony… wait, wait…”, Steve panted, his breath leaving a foggy spot on the shiny metal of the elevator door.

 

Tony’s deft fingers, already crawling under his shirt, barely even slowed. “Don’t tell me that you don’t want this”, he whispered right next to Steve’s ear.

 

He wanted it so bad it fucking _hurt_.

 

“Of course I… but it’s not right, we were… just on a date…”

 

A rough hand gently squeezed him, making Steve choke on a strangled moan. A smug smirk was all his eyes could see right now.

 

“Not our first. So…”

 

There was a chime and the doors slid open, making them both stumble backwards towards Tony’s bedroom. Clothes were discarded, desperate fingers sought desperate purchase of skin on skin contact as a bond, once damaged but never broken, reestablished itself once more.

 

“Tony…”, the blonde tried again.

 

“Come on, Steve, we’re not in the 40s anymore, I promise it’s okay…!”, Tony hissed impatiently.

 

“Just… hear me out!”, Steve put his hands on Tony’s biceps and pulled back a little. “This is important for me. I can’t just make do with a one night…”

 

“Hey.”

 

Steve looked up. Tony smiled crookedly again.

 

“This is not a quickie to deliver us from pent-up sexual tension. Whatever shit we’ve been through, I realize that you are my mate and I need you. It might look like it’s moving too fast, but it’s been nearly a year, so...”

 

Steve smiled, a slow but real dimpled smile, and bent down to kiss the brunette. He gently lowered Tony on the bed and crawled above him, tugging at his last remaining clothes. Tony’s fingers suddenly wrapped around his wrist as Steve was about to discard his undershirt. The genius didn’t meet his eyes and his voice was too quiet when he asked,

 

“Can we leave this on?”

 

Steve frowned. “Why? Tony, I’ve seen you naked.”

 

Tony gulped dryly, looking everywhere but him. “I, uh… have some new scars and, er… it’s not pretty.”

 

“Tony.”

 

It was said softly; not an order and not a weak plea. It always made him look up into those crystal-clear blue eyes.

 

“It’s the c-section, okay?”

 

Steve’s eyes softened. “Let me”, he asked.

 

It was that voice again. Tony grumbled under his nose and looked away again, but he lifted his arms indulgently and let Steve undress him. When he was finally bare and a few long seconds passed in silence he finally looked back up.

 

The look in Steve’s eyes was a weird combination of lust, gratitude and adoration. Even if he could have faked that, there was no denying the obvious physical reaction Tony’s naked body had on him: he was rock hard. The genius felt himself blushing again, feeling stupid and awkward as if he were a virgin, fighting not to look away. Then their eyes met again and Tony knew he couldn’t look anywhere else.

 

Steve smiled.

 

“I was going to say that you’re  just as beautiful as the first time I saw you. But it’s not true. You’re _more_ beautiful.” He bent down and kissed the new scar on Tony’s abs, making the brunette gasp. “Now more than ever.”

 

Steve had sucked him off before, if only once, so Tony really shouldn’t have been surprised by his skills. He knew Steve had basically only given head once in his life though, so it _was_ kind of surprising how good he was at it, if a little sloppy and graceless. It was either that, or the fact that Tony hadn’t been laid for more than a year, or the fact that Steve was his mate, or all of that combined but he came way sooner than he would have liked, harder that he remembered ever coming before.

 

He was still panting, basking in the afterglow, muttering how that better not be all the blonde had planned for tonight when the quiet shuffling made him frown, open his eyes and finally look down.

 

“Steve. What are you doing?”

 

“Hmm? Warming up the lube…”

 

Tony couldn’t help it. He burst laughing.

 

*

 

Peter was just about to take a bite of his sandwich when a hand shot up and grabbed it from between his fingers.

 

“What do you got there, Penis Parker? What did auntie wrap up in that box, hm? Damn, I’d rather unwrap her sexy a-…”

 

“I strongly advise you to stop right there, Flash”, Peter hissed.

 

Small eyes widened in surprise and the kid sitting opposite from him at the tables in the school yard burst laughing.

 

“Why, Parker? What would ya…”

 

The smile suddenly froze in the same moment as Peter felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He looked up, craning his neck, right into Tony’s designer sunglasses. Right next to him, on Peter’s other side, Steve glared at Flash with his arms crossed on his muscular chest. Flash stuttered out something unintelligible and bolted up, only for Sam to push his shoulder back down as him and Clint sat nonchalantly on either side of the stunned kid. Wanda plopped on the table, smirking smugly with Vision right behind her back. Thor nudged Peter, winking friendly as Natasha sat next to their youngest teammate and stared at Flash.

 

“Hello, Mr. Thompson. My name is Natasha Romanov. You can think of me as Peter’s other aunt. I would very much like to hear what you’d like to unwrap.”

 

“I-I’m s-sorry, ma’am…!”

 

“Oh, you have no idea how sorry you are going to be when I’m done with you!”, Tony hissed.

 

Clint tsk-ed. “Now listen up, punk. You clearly got the wrong the kid to bully. If you ask me, I’d kick ya ass for ever doing anything to any kid, anywhere. But for this particular guy over there”, he nodded to Peter, “you’d get your ass served to you on a plate by the whole fucking team.”

 

Steve sighed. “What he means to say is that Peter has a much larger family than you had guessed about. And we take family very seriously. So I strongly advise you to reflect on your behavior…”

 

“…or we will not be as polite next time”, Vision calmly finished. 

 

*

 

People didn’t immediately realize that Tony and Steve were back together.

 

They weren’t as obvious and blatant as they had been in that month or so before everything had fallen apart. They weren’t hiding in empty rooms to make out furiously, weren’t trying to hide stolen glances, weren’t all but buzzing with pent-up sexual tension.

 

But it was all there, in every small touch of their hands, seemingly unconscious. When Steve was tense and worried for a mission. When Tony was so sleep-deprived he could barely stand on his feet. When Steve’s old nightmares had left him weak and hollow in the morning. When Tony’s head hurt so badly no medicine helped and the words chronic migraine didn’t make it any less painful. Small touches of quiet reassurance and a reminder that they were there for each other. It wasn’t some foolish affair of two lovesick brats. It was love, suffered and mature, between adults who had struggled and learned many lessons on their way here.

 

Natasha noticed it first, and then Pepper. They had both offered a small, private smile and they had looked relieved. The guys never really noticed, or if they did, they didn’t comment on it.

 

*

 

Peter pulled nervously at his academic dress, feeling awkward in the formal clothes. He almost knocked over his hat as he kept turning around on his seat, trying to spot his aunt or maybe, just maybe…

 

No. They were busy people and had no time for a stupid high-school graduation ceremony. He sighed, willing himself to stop fidgeting.

 

His promise to himself was all too soon broken as a commotion made him look back again, only for his eyes to widen as a huge smile split his face.

 

Right next to his aunt Clint and Natasha looked around, staring and scaring everyone whose gaze lingered on them and cataloging every escape route and potential threat. Bruce looked awkward and out of place but he smiled and waved at Peter when their eyes met. Wanda and Vison discussed something in hushed tones next to a grumpy looking Rhodes, leaning precariously on his cane. Thor, thankfully in casual wear and with his hair short and making him much more human, grinned at Peter, giving him thumbs up. Tony and Steve were arguing about the best seats, each of them holding a twin (the press had tried to pry about the kids and how they came to be but Tony, being Tony, had shut them up with something along the lines of “I’m Tony Stark” which obviously explained everything since nothing was impossible for him).

 

Someone in the audience lifted a camera in the direction of the Avengers. Clint slowly shook his head. The camera was lowered back. Aunt May smiled at Peter and pointed at the stage where the principal was just finishing his speech with a simple,

 

“I now present you class 2018!”

 

Names started being called and every time there were a few people cheering and taking photos. Every parent, sibling or relative was proud with their graduating kid. But then again there were people who were prouder.

 

“Peter Parker!”

 

“YEAH!”, Thor boomed, along with the rest of them cheering loudly, even Natasha. Tony had FRIDAY film everything with a drone. Him and Steve were cheering as best as they could while bouncing irritated toddlers. Aunt May was brushing off a few tears all the while smiling and applauding. Rhodes handed her a handkerchief and Peter didn’t miss how their gazes lingered. Tony and Steve exchanged a _look_.

 

Peter grinned. His life was awesome.

 

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who didn’t know or didn’t check it out, Shadowmaker is Apocalyptica’s latest album. I happen to love them and I will not mention names but one of them does really seem obsessed with Thor :D And is a cellist! And Phil did mention a cellist! :D Basically, I couldn’t help myself… Anyway, let me know what you think about this story


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